About

Colombian director and still photographer Camila Saldarriaga has spent her life traveling between Bogotá, Miami, and Los Angeles. Her initial move from Colombia to the United States at 15 years old marked the beginning of both her transition to adulthood and a lifelong interest in addressing the patriarchy, female oppression, and human rights issues through film. Camila is dedicated to embracing diversity as well as spotlighting social issues and female experiences in her work.

Given her strong connection to her South American heritage, each location has served as an opportunity to experiment, develop her unique style, and strengthen her fascination with using atmospheric color palettes to tell stories.

Camila has a B.A. in Communications from Florida International University with a minor in Photography and Art.  She works with equal fluency between the worlds of fashion, music, arts and commercial.

Her experience in photography and creative producing has nurtured a passion for filmmaking, which led her to start directing. Her first self-directed-and-produced short film, ¡Mais Duro!, which was accepted to eleven film festivals and in Colombia, Italy, Brazil, Argentina, and the United States during the festival run, such as Oscar Qualifying OUTFEST. It won Best Narrative Short at Nordic International Film Festival, and it garnered a Special Mention by juror Kim Yutani, Sundance Senior programmer, at Provincetown Film Festival. It was also featured on www.hellogiggles.com and in Cléo Journal.

Several of Camila’s other bodies of work (photography and moving images) have been published in Purple Magazine, Nylon Español, in Revista Exclama (Bogotá) and in Milk Magazine (New York), among others.

Currently, in association with The Inertia, one of the most recognized channels of surfing in the United States, Camila launched her latest project, the documentary "The Shapers" a thoughtful glimpse into the lives of three women breaking the boundaries of traditionally gendered roles and  blazing a new path in the world of surfboard building. To date, “Las Shapers” has won Best Screenplay at Lagoa Surfe Arte. Brazil and has been selected to; New York Women Surf Film Festival, Chattanooga Film Festival, San Diego Surf Film Festival, and Hawaii Film Festival.

Lastly, her second NARRATIVE short, "Neon Octopus" and non-linear dance short film, starring Paulina Davila, are currently in the 2019 festival run while she rewrites and finalizes her first feature film, "Kombuchacabra".

Camila IS currently based in Los angeles.