Brandon Salaz

It was such a honor to receive my second Emmy nomination alongside the Arizona Midday team @vanessa_host @ceara_eliza and @pandaapple04 . I am beyond proud of the work, quality, and creativity our team brought to the show. I also had a blast hanging out with all these talented people and many others I didn’t get the chance to get a photo with. Thanks @rockymountainemmy for an incredible evening.

We moved! 📸 💻 the incredible @ceara_eliza

You know where to find us. 🎥 📸 @ceara_eliza @thesamsarastudios

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! ☘️ 🎥

“Sure, I can carry your purse and your wardrobe too!” (Peep all the items I am carrying 😂) @vanessa_host and I doing our thing all over Dublin! 📸

Birthday dump! From sleeping in a tent to fine dining, I learned on this episode that the greatest gift of all is friendship. Thanks to all the incredible people in my life who helped make this year extra special. And extra special thanks to @marzanovas for being the ring leader of my chaotic life. Cheers!

We are excited to announce that our latest short film, In Silence, is now on exhibit at the @heardmuseum in the Monte Vista Room every First Friday and Summer Saturday until September. Come stop by and check it out, as well as the work of all of the other incredible art at the Heard Museum.

If you know me, you know I am passionate about my work and you know I love food 😉. Now we are getting the opportunity to bring those loves together! 12 News is launching a new streaming show called Feasting on Phoenix. It’s a compilation of the incredible food segments we have on Arizona Midday. I have always loved filming food, so it’s nice to have an excuse to spice it up with our content. For the past 2 years I have been the sole videographer and editor for @arizonamidday and I am proud to have help taken the show where it started to where it is today. I got a tiny but mighty team I work with @vanessa_host , @pandaapple04 , and @ceara_eliza . But when I go on-location it’s Vanessa and me fighting against the clock to create the best content we can for our show. This segment at Tesota was done in under two hours with minimal gear. We may not have the most expensive gear, we may not have a huge crew, but we bring the A-game every single day. Check out @tesotaphx on the first episode of Feasting on Phoenix at 12news.com Shot on @fujifilmx_us

Somewhere in Colorado, a charming little mountain café with soft light shining through the windows. ❄️☕️🌨️

Incredible weekend with some of the most passionate film people! Thank you @showlowfilmfestival for organizing this event and giving us the opportunity to showcase our film on big screen. “I would imagine that everyone who makes a film is to some extent interested in human beings...It’s not just about human beings. It’s also a structure, a form, a rhythm, a face, a temple, a feeling for light and shade, composition, and a way of telling a story”—Satyajit Ray

In Silence is the culmination of a friendship and creative partnership that has spanned over two decades. It all started when Brandon Salaz and Salvatore Arnoldo met as children in the North Texas suburb where they both grew up and Salvatore brought over an old VHS camcorder, which they used to shoot comedy shorts in the backyard with their friends. Since then, they’ve both pursued their shared passion for creative storytelling; Salvatore leaning towards the written word and Brandon towards visuals.   In Silence itself began as a DIY experiment during the pandemic. They gathered together their COVID pod of four—Brandon, Salvatore, Brandon’s wife, Marzana Salaz, and their friend and frequent collaborator, James Aaron Thomas—and filmed the original version of the short in their home, crewing it themselves, with Marzana as the star. You could think of it as a VERY in-depth storyboarding process.   A few years later, the duo decided to take a real shot at the project, with a full cast and crew, which luck would have it, was made up of some of the best Arizona has to offer, and they are extremely proud of the results. Thus, the lifelong creative collaboration continues, the two serving as Directors, Writers, and Producers on the project. We hope very much that you’ll all come out to your local film festival and see what they’ve made together out of what started as a scrappy little COVID experiment—which is really all they’ve got to show for it, because neither of them have the patience or skill to bake bread. 😅   Stay tuned for forthcoming details about festivals and in the meantime, visit samsara-studios.com for information about our previous projects, such as Separación (2019), Papay Solomon: As We Are (2021), and Paralyzed (2022). 📸: @marzanovas . . #film #shortfilm #thriller #horror #indie #indiefilm #director #writer #producer #screenwriting #filmfestival #azlocal #phoenix #phxfilm #create #artist

We’re excited to announce that In Silence is officially coming to the Flagstaff International Film Festival! Join us on the weekend of 8/3-4 at the Orpheum Theater in Flagstaff for the Arizona premier of our pulse-pounding new thriller. Follow @flagfilmfestival for festival updates and to get tickets. We can’t wait to see you in Flagstaff! . . . #film #filmfestival #shortfilm #horror #thriller #azfilm #azlocal #flagstaff #phxfilm #insilenceshortfilm