Enamorado | UCLA Thesis Film (Latino Queer Romance)

As a fateful meeting at a liquor store leaves Damian longing for Izan, a relationship between the two blossoms out of innocence and fantasy.

Director's Statement:
Enamorado is my version of queer love. My mission through this film is to invite other Latines to dissect their earliest forms of queer intimacy–what were the moments that uprooted you completely? There's a buried world of sensitivity that branches out to every queer individual and connects us. Even in the most pressured circumstances do we convey seeds of details to one another–following eyes, body language, and a stifled longing for closeness. There’s a flourishing culture in queer encounters around simply noticing each other.

After a year-long hiatus from Enamorado, I poked my head out of my hermit-shell existence and watched it anew only to discover how extremely… personal this was. I’ve come to realize how shockingly vulnerable this film was to my early youth and how it grew into this strange (albeit cathartic) public confession to the world. I sought so deeply to find a resolution. To find my voice in a new world that tested the limits of my intense sensitivity. To stand against the noise and hollow rituals that withered away at my soul and kept me quiet. I think every artist has that one story they need to tell. To say ‘this is who I am, this is my identity, and this is how I can move forward with my life.’ I think Enamorado was just one story born out of necessity, a bridge between my heart and my community I released in order to let go.

WRITTEN, DIRECTED & EDITED BY:
Eduardo Salas   / eddyelalto  

.: CAST :.

DAMIAN
Jayel Marques   / jayelmarquess  
IZAN
Sebastian Betancur   / iamsebastianbetancur  
IZAN'S MOTHER
Frania Dueñas   / frania_d_fresca  

.: CREW :.

CINEMATOGRAPHER
Maya Gonzales   / matotheya  
PRODUCER
Alexandra Turner   / alxxlt  
1ST ASSISTANT DIRECTOR
Vanessa Flores   / nesspress0  
1ST ASSISTANT CAMERA
Angel Hernandez   / plannet.angel  
GAFFER
Sela Pierce   / selapierce  
GRIP
Niall Pierce   / nialll.p  
COSTUMES
Jalissa Jackson   / jalissaarie  
CASTING DIRECTOR
Olivia Alicea   / beachtownsenior  
SCRIPT SUPERVISOR
Natalia Trejo   / natalia.trejo.b  
PRODUCTION DESIGNER
Caroline Chou   / carolimenade  
BOOM OPERATOR
Lucian Patton   / lucian.patton  
SOUND MIXER
Elliot Rhodes   / elliot__rhodes  
COVID SAFETY PRODUCER No. 1
Katrina Johnson   / thehurricanekat1  
COVID SAFETY PRODUCER No. 2
Shubhra Dubey   / shubbydub  
MUSIC CONSULTANTS
Alison Chi
Victor R. Morales   / victormoralesrocha  

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©2025 Eduardo Salas & Flat Memory Media.