The Salmon’s Spine

Feature Film

Synopsis:

The Salmon’s Spine is a drama that explores betrayal, resentment, and revenge as forces that remain dormant over time. Eight years earlier, a counterfeit-dollar operation ends in disaster when Joselo is arrested after being abandoned by the people he considered not just accomplices, but family. Wounded and caught, Joselo loses his freedom—but not his memory, nor his thirst for payback.

Meanwhile, Roberto has built a façade of stability as a respected lawyer at a notary office. The arrival of Martina—and Roberto’s unexpected assignment to handle her notarial paperwork—stirs up a past they both believed was sealed.

What begins as a routine day becomes a tense journey through unresolved memories. Eager to prove how much he has changed, Roberto performs success and respectability, while Martina—rushed to return to Montería with her husband—finds herself trapped in a day that exposes how little they truly know each other. Rosario, Roberto’s friend and psychologist, has been essential to his attempt at rebuilding his life after a breakup.

Joselo’s reappearance shatters the fragile reunion. After stalking Roberto and triggering an asthma attack, he kidnaps Martina. A phone call leads Roberto back to his own home, where Rosario’s voice awakens old feelings in Joselo. The revenge plot spirals out of control, and Roberto and Martina manage to escape.

On the run, Roberto tries to get Martina to the airport, echoing a farewell from years ago. But when she goes back for her bag, they end up taking refuge in an old motel, where emotions they thought buried rise to the surface. The story culminates at the restaurant owned by Joselo’s father, where the betrayals from eight years earlier are finally exposed.

Back at the motel, as the news reports the tragedy that unfolded at the restaurant, Roberto and Martina say goodbye.

Technical Sheet

Screenplay: Santiago Vargas

Director: Santiago Vargas

Producer (General Producer): Agustin Restrepo

Executive Producers: Santiago Vargas

Director of Photography (DoP): Carlos Hernandez

Production Design / Art Direction: Romel Amador

Cast: Carolina Acevedo, Rodrigo Candamil y Julio Pachón

Production Company: Maquina Santa (in co-production with La Villa Producciones)

Shooting Format: 6K

Exhibition Format: DCP (Digital Cinema Package)

Running Time: 100 minutes

Status: Post production