'I AM SALSA GUY' is the 1-minute version of ‘SALSA GUY’, a short film I directed, edited and co-produced. In it’s shorter form, 'I AM SALSA GUY' distills the key themes of the film into 60 seconds: the transformative power of dance; the relationship between dreams and reality; the difficulty in communication between men and women; and how dance - with it's fluidity, physicality and sexuality - has the power to transcend language.  

The full film - called simply  'SALSA GUY' -  is a black-comedy-dance film which tells the tale of Nigel, a middle-aged wage slave with a developing drink problem, a lonely fantasist, still haunted by his long failed marriage. Seemingly invisible to his colleagues and desperate to reconnect with the world, he discovers the passionate and vibrant Salsa scene and plunges in head first, soon to be reborn as....Salsa Guy!

Moving through a colourful odyssey of lessons, clubs and bars, Salsa Guy is awoken from his turgid half-life, but what begins as a hobby gradually turns into an obsession, which sees his life spin out of control, leading to a flamboyant and tragic demise.

'SALSA GUY' was the first collaboration between the writer Paul Nash and myself. We have since gone on to work on several short films together and also have couple of feature projects in development. The original inspiration for SALSA GUY was a local oddball Paul had observed in Ipswich, where he grew up. This balding, middle-aged man with a pony-tail and a taste for garish shirts kept appearing at various gigs and whatever the music – world, country, blues or ska – this guy would be dancing salsa to it! That image stuck with him and developed into the character of Nigel AKA ‘Salsa Guy’. When I first read the script, I thought it was very funny yet tragic at the same time. I could see the potential to do interesting things in terms of how we filmed it, the energy of the dance scenes versus the drab daytime routine; the blend of fantasy and reality; transitions between past and present. In rehearsals, I encouraged the lead actor (Robert Gill) to think of Salsa Guy as an alter ego, in the same way that Clark Kent became Superman or Bruce Wayne became Batman, Nigel Maplin became Salsa Guy! 

'SALSA GUY' was filmed in various - and varied - locations. For Nigel's workplace, we used the office I worked in at the time (this is the location seen in 'I AM SALSA GUY') and we transformed my lovely flat into his dingy, crumbling bedsit. But the real fun - and the biggest challenges - came in the film's many dance scenes, shot on location in various salsa clubs around London. Sometimes, we shot on the fly, with our actor mingling with the class, undercover and in character. Other scenes were highly choreographed, with ambitious camera movement.

'SALSA GUY'  has won awards and nominations at festivals worldwide, including nominations for Best Foreign Director, Best European Film and Most Original Concept at Malta International Short Film Festival 2013. The brilliant lead performance is by Robert Gill ( Hugo; Nitrate; Emmerdale - TV; The Bodyguard - Stage; Calendar Girls - Stage ) and the film was exec-produced by award-winning comedy writer David Quantick ( Veep; Harry Hill; Brass Eye )