INTERVIEW with DaVida Sal
DaVida Sal es una cineasta independiente, actriz, escritora y artista multidisciplinaria nacida en Tarragona, España. Tras trasladarse a Los Ángeles para formarse como actriz con reconocidos coaches como Eric Morris y Bernard Hiller, orientó su trayectoria hacia el cine independiente, desarrollando una voz propia al margen de los circuitos tradicionales.
LECHE ROJA:
Portrait of Love and Redemption.
Written, Directed, Produced, Acted and Edited by DaVida Sal
How long have you been making movies? How did you decide to start making films?
I’ve been fascinated by filmmaking ever since I was a child, watching Hollywood classics with my mother. She was the one who introduced me to filmmakers like Stanley Kubrick and Francis Ford Coppola, and to extraordinary actors such as
Marlon Brando and Robert De Niro.
In fact, years later, in 2014, I met Francis Ford Coppola in San Francisco and had a double date with him—one of those surreal moments that you never forget.
I was only seven years old when I watched One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, and something clicked inside me. I remember thinking, I want to make a movie that makes people feel something like this. That desire has stayed with me ever since, and in a way, my next film will return to that same kind of beginning.
I started taking acting classes at school, and eventually I wrote, directed, and acted in my very first play. It had three parts, much like my current film, Leche Roja. I discovered very early on that I didn’t just want to perform—I wanted to create the entire world of the story.
At 22, I moved to Los Angeles to pursue acting. I studied with some remarkable acting coaches, including Eric Morris, author of No Acting Please, and Bernard Hiller. Those years taught me a great deal about performance, character, and
storytelling.
My first film came in 2008, when I created WAVES: A Tale of Love and Obsession in San Francisco. I had received a tax refund, and instead of spending it, I decided to invest it in making a movie. That decision changed my life. I realized that if I truly wanted to tell the stories I imagined, I couldn’t wait for someone else to give me permission—I had to make them myself.
Why did you do this project? (If you can say, how much budget did you have?)
I made this project after moving to Mexico, at a time when I was reinventing myself once again.
After the tragic loss of my Twin Flame in 2019, I changed my name and moved to Mexico to start over and find a new direction in my life.
For several years, I wondered what I was going to do with the rest of my life. Eventually, I realized that I had to return to filmmaking. I had already tried once before, and it hadn’t been easy. I had invested all of my savings, as well as my mother’s inheritance, into my first feature film, Saving Isis. But I still felt that I had to give filmmaking another chance.
Deep down, this is what my inner child has always wanted to do. I feel that I owe it to her to keep creating, even though filmmaking is one of the most competitive and difficult professions in the world.
When I started this project, I had almost nothing. Little by little, through an incredible amount of determination, tenacity, and perseverance, I managed to raise $30,000. With that money, I was able to make my second feature film, Leche Roja, and I believe I achieved the highest level of quality possible with the resources I had.
For me, the key is not having a huge budget. The key is having endless creativity and imagination. When you have less, you are forced to become more resourceful. You find solutions, you think outside the box, and you learn how to transform limitations into creative opportunities.
Leche Roja, my own personal story told in fantasy and symbolism, is proof that you don't necessarily need millions of dollars to make a film with ambition, emotion,
and a strong visual identity. Sometimes, having less simply forces you to create more.
Was it self-funded, or did you get funding from producers or investors?
The film was partially self-funded and partially financed through crowdfunding. I personally invested a significant amount into the project, and crowdfunding allowed me to bring other people into the journey and help make the film possible. It was truly an independent production, built step by step with the resources we could find.
How long did it take from the initial idea to being able to release the film?
It took approximately three years, from the initial idea and development through production, post-production, and finally getting the film ready for release. It was a long journey, but every stage taught me something new and helped shape Leche Roja into the film it ultimately became.
Are you happy with the result?
I’m very happy with the result, especially because I had complete creative control over the entire production and post-production. I decided to be both the producer and the director, so Leche Roja is essentially 100% my personal world translated into images and sounds.
I love the rawness of the film, its authenticity, and the passion that everyone involved invested in it. We started with almost nothing, and somehow we created an entire universe that didn’t exist before—and that universe had a story that needed to be told.
In many ways, the characters told me the story. I listened to them, followed them, and allowed the film to reveal itself along the way. That is one of the things I love most about filmmaking: sometimes you think you are creating the story, but eventually the story starts creating itself.
What phase is the project in right now? Are you in the initial phase of sending it to festivals, the middle phase, or finishing the circuit?
I’m in the initial phase of the festival journey. I like to think of it as sending my baby off to school for the first time. After spending so many years creating and protecting this film, it’s now time to let it go out into the world, find its audience, and see where it takes me.
How has your experience been with festivals so far? Where do you think they should improve?
So far, my experience has been very positive. There has been a lot of interest and expectation around the film, which is very encouraging.
Leche Roja is a very personal and unique film. I didn’t make it simply to make money. I made it to create and share what I call the language of the soul—the song of my heart, and all the wicked sounds of my mind.
I think festivals can sometimes benefit from being more open to films that don't fit neatly into established categories or commercial formulas. Independent cinema should have space for films that are raw, unconventional, deeply personal, and
created from a genuine artistic necessity.
For me, Leche Roja is exactly that. It is not a product—it is a piece of my soul that I’m finally releasing into the world.
Festivals should improve in being less biased and more open to unique and transgressive voices.
Could you tell us which platforms you use to submit your entries to festivals?
So far, I have mainly been submitting the film through festival platforms such as FilmFreeway. One of the first festivals I submitted Leche Roja to was Lo Más Prohibido in Madrid, where the film was selected for the Official Selection. That was a very exciting moment for me because it was the beginning of the film’s journey into the festival world.
Were you inspired by any director or film? If so, tell us about your references.
I’m very inspired by David Lynch. I often joke that I’m the Spanish DaVida Lynch! I’m fascinated by films that explore dreams, nightmares, the subconscious, and those hidden worlds that exist beneath what we consider reality. They give me the freedom to explore the unconscious mind and the strange places where imagination and reality collide.
But Stanley Kubrick is my master teacher. The Shining marked me forever—not only as a horror film, but because of how extraordinarily it was shot. The symmetry, composition, camera movements, and symbolism in every scene are incredible. Kubrick taught me that every visual element can have meaning.
Those influences are definitely somewhere inside Leche Roja, but I also wanted the film to have its own language—something raw, personal, and unmistakably mine.
What are your favorite movies?
That’s a very difficult question because there are so many! But some of the films that have deeply influenced me are 2001: A Space Odyssey, Blade Runner, The Silence of the Lambs, The Piano, and The Crying Game.
What is your favorite series?
American Horror Story: Coven, especially with Jessica Lange and Kathy Bates. I love its dark atmosphere, strong female characters, theatricality, and unapologetic approach to the macabre.
Do you see yourself making movies in five years? Where do you see yourself?
Absolutely. Like John Huston or Clint Eastwood, I want to make movies until the day I die.
In less than 5 years I dream big, I see myself standing on a stage at Cannes with a Palme d’Or, thanking my mother in Heaven for passing on to me her passion for films and for stories that can only truly be experienced on the big screen.
When I was a child, people laughed at me because they told me I would never make any money making movies. But my mother believed in me. She taught me something much more valuable: that true happiness comes from doing what you love most in this life and inspiring others to follow their dreams.
To me, that is true wealth. That is true abundance.
And if I ever hold that Palme d’Or in my hands, it will be for her. She's not longer with us but my promise to her is very alive and strong.
Do you have any other project in mind?
Yes, absolutely. In fact, I already have the next one in mind, and it is the project I’m most excited about. If I can find the right funding and the right people to support it, I truly believe it could make it to Cannes in 2028.
It’s about a woman whom everyone thinks is crazy because she believes she is going to give birth to a baby who will save the world.
It’s a very strange, beautiful, dark, and ambitious story, and I’m very excited about it.
What do you ask for the future, cinematographically speaking?
I ask for better funding and more government grants so I can hire a bigger and more professional crew. I have learned to do everything because I had no other choice, but I would love to get to a point where I don’t have to produce, direct, and act all at the same time!
I want to have the freedom to concentrate on directing and acting and let other talented people do what they do best. I know what I can create with almost nothing. Now I want to see what I can create with the right resources.
What has been your best experience in a movie theater?
Without a doubt, watching 2001: A Space Odyssey remastered in 70mm at the Castro Theatre in San Francisco in 2011, with a live orchestra.
That was a magical experience for me. 2001 is one of my favorite films, and seeing it that way—on the big screen, in 70mm, with live music—was almost like entering another dimension.
That is why I believe so strongly in cinema. There are movies you watch, and there are movies you experience. 2001: A Space Odyssey is an experience.