Director's Works
Freak R.J. Sanchez
R.J. Sanchez (from director duo CLIQUA) is a director who has had a phenomenal impact on global pop aesthetics – having amassed over 1.5 billion YouTube views on music videos directed under the CLIQUA banner.
Since joining forces with his directing partner Pasqual Gutiérrez, CLIQUA have become valued collaborators of the likes of Rosalía, Bad Bunny, as well as The Weeknd. Notable projects include ‘K Pop’ for Travis Scott, featuring Bad Bunny and The Weeknd, and most recently ‘Popular’ for The Weeknd, featuring Madonna and Playboi Carti.
In the commercial realm, CLIQUA’s work for Apple Music ‘Usher with Future Usher’, Expedia ‘Local Lens: Koreatown’ and eBay ‘Keep Your Ride or Die Alive’ – in addition to eye-catching spots for the likes of Facebook, Nike, Puma, adidas and Wingstop – showcases their multimedia prowess. As does ‘¡Suerte!’, an innovative Apple iPhone-shot short about Mexican music and culture inspired by the traditional game of lotería.
As for their narrative work, the duo’s latest cinematic short film ‘Shut Up & Fish’ took the Best Narrative Short at the Atlanta Film Festival, Sun Valley Film Festival and NY Latino Film Festival, and received an honourable mention at LA’s Hollyshorts. Aside from R.J.’s latest short film ‘Freak’, he is also finishing up a short form documentary centered around barra brava (soccer hooligan) culture in Columbia.
Freak responds to the brief “tell us your love story” by revisiting a formative teenage experience and a dance trend. Set in 2006 and scored with music from Sanchez’s high school years, the film captures the absurdity, anxiety, and universality of adolescent courtship through the lens of freak dancing—a sexually suggestive early-2000s dance that reflects the awkward, playful navigation of teenage social rituals.
