Armoury's Secret Sauce with New Signing Salsa
Armoury’s latest signing, directing duo Salsa, spice things up with LBB as they chat about their creative process, greatest influences, and what’s next on their flavour-filled journey!
Q> You both have incredibly varied experiences of the World that adds a richness to your work, can you tell us a bit about that?
Guto> Actually, I’d say I basically have two official bases now: São Paulo and Rio. When we’re not filming somewhere abroad, these are the two cities where I recharge. São Paulo has that vibe of a buzzing megacity, with a vibrant cultural, arts, music scene and a super dynamic audiovisual industry. Rio, on the other hand, is my hometown—my sanctuary where I can connect with nature, the Atlantic Forest, the ocean and surfing. Plus, Brazil’s time zone is perfectly positioned between Europe and the U.S., so we can work with both markets without totally messing up our sleep.
Diego> Brussels is a melting pot of cultures. It is the headquarters of the EU, and people from all over the world live here. At my wedding, for instance, I counted 31 nationalities - and that certainly would not be possible if I wasn’t living in Brussels. This multicultural aspect is very appealing to me. I also like the surrealistic and deceptive nature of Belgium. For a foreigner’s eyes, Brussels might not have the allure of some other capitals in Europe, but there is a creative free spirit that I admire a lot here. I guess it is a normal side effect of a country that functions by constantly balancing different points of view at the same time.
Q> What was your path to becoming the creative directing duo?
Diego> Our professional partnership was really just a natural outcome of our long friendship since college. In Uni, we both studied advertising and marketing in Brazil, which allowed us a certain knowledge of the business and an extensive library prior to starting work. But I went the production route instead. Working as a PA in Brazil whilst directing my own projects (directed two short films and wrote a few bad scripts) and once in Belgium, I unintentionally followed the classic path of waiting tables whilst shooting music videos for friends and making of’s for bigger projects. After we graduated, we both moved to Europe in the same year—actually, in the same month.
Guto> I went to live in Lisbon (and afterwards Barcelona), working as a creative in an ad agency, while Diego moved to Belgium. We always stayed close, meeting up during trips around Europe, and we shared similar tastes and interests when it came to movies, art, and life influences in general. So we decided to empty our pockets, put it all in front of the lens and made “Heaven", Salsa’s directorial debut. This film won Gold in the YDA 2015, and it opened a lot of doors for us.
Q> Why the name… Salsa?
Guto> Honestly, the story is way less exciting than it could be—it’s basically an inside joke. Here it is: Back in college, there was this party spot in Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro, located in the basement of a hostel. It was a weekly party on Wednesdays, mostly filled with people from every nationality you can imagine—except Brazilians. It was kind of like a secret night, one of those things we didn’t tell anyone about so it wouldn’t lose its charm. I think that was the time in our lives when our English and Spanish improved the most and in record time, too. Haha. Looking back, maybe that’s when the spark to live abroad was born. So, in a way, it might’ve been the real beginning of SALSA.
The funny thing is, the place wasn’t even called Salsa—that’s just what we named it to keep the actual name under wraps. We picked it because the music there was that classic Latin party vibe you’d hear in global party cities, from Ibiza to Cusco, and Miami to Cancun.
On top of that, there’s an inside joke tied to it. In ‘90s American movies, whenever the villain escaped to Rio at the end of the story, they’d start playing Salsa music instead of Samba. It’s like Brazil and every South American country were the same thing. That kind of geographical and cultural ignorance was super common back then. Honestly, even today, some people still ask me if the capital of Brazil is Buenos Aires. So, as Brazilians and lovers of Samba and Bossa Nova, we decided to poke fun at the stereotype a little.
Q> On the note of Salsa, what’s your secret sauce that makes you guys work so well together?
Guto> I think our biggest strength doesn’t really come from the professional side of things—it’s more about our friendship, empathy, mutual respect, and long-time admiration for each other. And, of course, our shared sense of humour. We were already great friends before deciding to work together. These days, I see a lot of duos or collectives coming together out of convenience, opportunity, or to combine skills for work. But maybe they don’t think about the basics, like: Do I want this person around in my life in five, 10, 20 years? Because work itself is only about 20% of it. The rest of the time, we’re traveling together, exploring new countries, cultures, and meeting people, sharing our personal lives, experiences, and adventures. Or just hanging out, venting frustrations, celebrating wins, sharing dreams and riding the highs and lows together.
Q> What excites you about joining Armoury’s roster and diving into the UK market?
Guto> It’s impossible not to get excited about playing in the Premier League, right? I grew up admiring unforgettable spots from John Lewis, Guinness, Honda, Cadbury, and so many other classics that shaped our imagination. The UK market has always been a reference for us, both in
terms of the top-notch scripts created by some of the best agencies in the world and the incredible quality and talent of the audiovisual industry. We can't wait to team up with Armoury to add a little fresh Salsa to the Fish and Chips.
Diego> We are so excited to dive into the UK market. We fell in love with the medium by watching some classic English spots at Uni, the films of Johnathan Glazer, Frank Budgen, Ringan Ledwidge... just to name a few and having the chance now to enter such a creative and historic stage is just brilliant. It is that full-circle type of feeling. We can’t wait to start.
Q> How would you describe your aesthetic style?
Guto> I think we have a pretty unique and genuine way of portraying everyday life. Maybe it’s because, when we’re breaking down a script, at first we don’t look for references in movies, shows, or other commercials. Instead, we start with an internal dive into our own memories and experiences and try to recreate that feeling. We always like to ask ourselves, "Is this how people actually act in real life, or is this how they act in films?" The answer should always be the former. And when we find that authentic, relatable thing, it’s all about the never-ending challenge of capturing it on camera in the most beautiful and poetic way possible.
Q> Who or what would you say are some of your key influences?
Diego> We love cinema, we love ads. So those two mediums are an infinite source of influence. We also get a lot of inspiration in life, by observing people and trying to bring real life nuggets to our films. But I'll try to focus on filmmakers whose work still fascinates me these days. It's impossible not to get excited about the films of Spike Jonze, PTA, Terrence Malick, Michel Gondry, Yorgos Lanthimos, Aronofsky, Nolan, Fincher, Alfonso Cuarón, Wim Wenders.
In the advertising world, we love the work of the greats such as Frank Budgen, Ringan Ledwidge and Jonathan Glazer. Nike “Tag”, Playstation “Double Life” and “Mountain”, The Guardian “Three Little Pigs”, Puma “After Hours”, “Guinness “Surfer”, “Wrangler “Ride”, and many more.
Q> Can you pluck out a highlight in your filmmaking career together?
Guto> From a more emotional perspective, I’d say it was the day we made the film for Flamengo Football Club and got to shoot with Zico, my biggest sports idol (and my dad’s and every Flamengo fan’s idol too). As a lifelong die-hard fan of the club, that was such a special shoot and a life moment I’ll never forget.
Diego> Without a doubt winning Gold in the YDA in Cannes, especially with the type of project and circumstances: self-financed, made in a moment of incertitude in our lives and for a very honourable cause.
Q> How would you describe each other’s approach to filmmaking?
Guto> It’s hard to say exactly—we don’t have a super clearly defined division of tasks. Maybe it comes down to our personalities. Diego, for example, is more extroverted, talkative, and full of energy. Naturally, he gravitates toward scenes with big casts, kids running around, something more performative, or involving improv. I, on the other hand, lean toward more sensitive, contained scenes, where the emotion comes through in small gestures—sometimes even really emotionally intense, but more intimate moments. Sometimes one of us focuses more on the look while the other works on the acting, and then we switch it up.
Q> We love that you do projects big and small, what are some of the pros and cons of bigger budgets and smaller budgets with regard to the creative freedoms they each allow?
Guto> Small equals more freedom, less time on meetings and politics and more time doing. Everyone is more engaged in the idea and less in keeping the status quo. It can be more challenging creatively, due to the budget constraints, but at the same time, it can feel much more rewarding. The bigger projects though are a great opportunity to push the narrative forward. Either by allowing us to work with different equipment and crew or by giving us a bigger stage to play.
Diego> The reality and irony of this double life is that we can only afford smaller projects if we get the bigger ones; and we usually get the big gigs, because of the small ones we did. And by playing both games, we are now very confident in our problem-solving and political skills.
Q> Any personal projects coming out alongside commercials soon?
Guto> Oh yes… personal projects work a bit like small projects. We like to shoot our own work to show our latest ideas that can attract other work. At the moment, we have a short film to launch in 2025. It is an experimental project, an evocatively raw and poetic act inspired by human relationships abruptly interrupted. An essay on grief, loss, the relativity of time, and love.
Diego> We are also developing a feature film in Brazil. During COVID we optioned the rights of a Brazilian book, and we've been developing it since then. But this is one fits the big project type of category; it needs more money, it requires more time and more people involved. But we are loving every part of it.
Q> What else do you both like doing outside of directing?
So many things… is there a character limit to this answer?
Diego> Next to filmmaker, I’m also a painter. It is good to have a creative outlet that doesn’t require so many people, money and time. It is just you against your limitations and you can always work around your limitations. I’m also an amateur football player (11 aside) - we train twice a week, and league games are every Saturday (even former pros play there). Cooking is also another passion of mine, if the ad world collapses, I guess my plan B would be to become one of these ASMR, quick-cut video food TikTokers.
Guto> Being from Rio, it is hard not to connect to the beach life. I love surfing, it is one of the main activities in my life. A passion I always nurtured in all the different cities I lived. I love travelling, I love nature, and I love travelling to nature. Since we have the luxury of travelling a lot for our work, I always make sure to get some extra days to wander around.
