Directing
Sal Bardo
Suffern, New York, USA
Born in Suffern, New York and raised in New Jersey, Sal Bardo made his acting debut as a piece of chocolate in an elementary school play and further honed his skills at Hunterdon Central Regional High School, where he performed in various plays, musicals, and talent showcases. He was also a hands-on member of the school's radio and television production program, producing, directing, and acting in various TV shows. Sal took a break from acting to study music at New York University, though he did appear alongside a Claymation cup of spilt milk in his roommate's short film project and was a faithful groupie of NYU's Experimental Theater Wing. In 2004, Sal enrolled at Herbert Berghof Studio in Manhattan and began acting professionally in films and on stage, including the critically acclaimed off-Broadway premiere of Juan Mayorga's Way to Heaven (Himmelweg). In 2010, Sal made his directorial debut with the short film Requited, which premiered at the Seattle International Film Festival and for which Sal received the audience award for Best First Time Filmmaker at Reel Affirmations: Washington D.C.'s International LGBT Film Festival. In 2015, Sal's film Pink Moon won the Jury Prize for Best Short Film at the Big Apple Film Festival. In 2016, his music video for Paper Ring's "Great Escape" was nominated for the Iris Prize, the world's largest LGBT short film award.
Acting credits
3.4A collection of six gay-themed short films about relationships and the pain of love, including: REQUITED (directed by Sal Bardo), BOYS LIKE YOU (directed by Daniel Armando), WE ONCE WERE TIDE (directed by Jason Bradbury), REVOLUTION (directed by Abdi Nazemian), THE IN-BETWEEN (directed by Alain Hain) and FROZEN ROADS (directed by Mark Pariselli).
Blue Briefs
2012
5.2Alienated from his conservative Jewish family and community, a promising, young, gay schoolteacher seeks solace in New York's barebacking scene.
Chaser
2013
5.0Nicolas, a young man in his mid 20s, struggles to decide whether or not to go to the wedding of his best friend from high school, Aaron, who he's always been quietly in love with. The two had a falling out years earlier after Nicolas inexplicably kissed Aaron's girlfriend. Nicolas clings to an idealized image of his former friend, unconsciously sabotaging his own happiness in the process. The film is a realistic slice-of-life that poses the question "How do you get over something you never had?"
Requited
2011
3.4A handsome young drifter is found unconscious near a remote monastery, where he joins forces with a vengeful spirit as he seduces and converts each of the monks to join his league of the undead.
Eulogy for a Vampire
2009
Behind the camera
6.5A dark dramedy that grapples with how mental health can complicate or stand in the way of making personal connections and finding happiness in the 21st century.
Come Clean
2023
6.5A dark dramedy that grapples with how mental health can complicate or stand in the way of making personal connections and finding happiness in the 21st century.
Come Clean
2023
3.4A collection of six gay-themed short films about relationships and the pain of love, including: REQUITED (directed by Sal Bardo), BOYS LIKE YOU (directed by Daniel Armando), WE ONCE WERE TIDE (directed by Jason Bradbury), REVOLUTION (directed by Abdi Nazemian), THE IN-BETWEEN (directed by Alain Hain) and FROZEN ROADS (directed by Mark Pariselli).
Blue Briefs
2012
NRMax reconnects with Diana, an old friend, stirring long-forgotten emotions. Her fading memory complicates matters as she grapples with her deep love for Diana and her commitment to her husband, Charlie.
Out of the Woods
2025
NRMax reconnects with Diana, an old friend, stirring long-forgotten emotions. Her fading memory complicates matters as she grapples with her deep love for Diana and her commitment to her husband, Charlie.
Out of the Woods
2025
A woman leaves her husband to be with a woman she met decades earlier.
Great Escape
2015
A woman leaves her husband to be with a woman she met decades earlier.
Great Escape
2015
A woman leaves her husband to be with a woman she met decades earlier.
Great Escape
2015
5.2Alienated from his conservative Jewish family and community, a promising, young, gay schoolteacher seeks solace in New York's barebacking scene.
Chaser
2013
5.2Alienated from his conservative Jewish family and community, a promising, young, gay schoolteacher seeks solace in New York's barebacking scene.
Chaser
2013
5.2Alienated from his conservative Jewish family and community, a promising, young, gay schoolteacher seeks solace in New York's barebacking scene.
Chaser
2013
4.2After being bullied at school for dressing as a boy, Sam escapes into the fields surrounding his house, where he's forced to choose between who he is and who society thinks he should be.
Sam
2012
4.2After being bullied at school for dressing as a boy, Sam escapes into the fields surrounding his house, where he's forced to choose between who he is and who society thinks he should be.
Sam
2012
4.2After being bullied at school for dressing as a boy, Sam escapes into the fields surrounding his house, where he's forced to choose between who he is and who society thinks he should be.
Sam
2012
5.0Nicolas, a young man in his mid 20s, struggles to decide whether or not to go to the wedding of his best friend from high school, Aaron, who he's always been quietly in love with. The two had a falling out years earlier after Nicolas inexplicably kissed Aaron's girlfriend. Nicolas clings to an idealized image of his former friend, unconsciously sabotaging his own happiness in the process. The film is a realistic slice-of-life that poses the question "How do you get over something you never had?"
Requited
2011
5.0Nicolas, a young man in his mid 20s, struggles to decide whether or not to go to the wedding of his best friend from high school, Aaron, who he's always been quietly in love with. The two had a falling out years earlier after Nicolas inexplicably kissed Aaron's girlfriend. Nicolas clings to an idealized image of his former friend, unconsciously sabotaging his own happiness in the process. The film is a realistic slice-of-life that poses the question "How do you get over something you never had?"
Requited
2011
5.0Nicolas, a young man in his mid 20s, struggles to decide whether or not to go to the wedding of his best friend from high school, Aaron, who he's always been quietly in love with. The two had a falling out years earlier after Nicolas inexplicably kissed Aaron's girlfriend. Nicolas clings to an idealized image of his former friend, unconsciously sabotaging his own happiness in the process. The film is a realistic slice-of-life that poses the question "How do you get over something you never had?"
Requited
2011
5.0In a society where heterosexuals are persecuted and abortion is forbidden, two teens are forced to hide an unintended pregnancy before their secret romance is exposed.
Pink Moon
2015
5.0In a society where heterosexuals are persecuted and abortion is forbidden, two teens are forced to hide an unintended pregnancy before their secret romance is exposed.
Pink Moon
2015
5.0In a society where heterosexuals are persecuted and abortion is forbidden, two teens are forced to hide an unintended pregnancy before their secret romance is exposed.
Pink Moon
2015