April’s Featured Short: When There Are No Words
When her grandfather loses his voice to cancer, filmmaker Gabriella Canal captures the personal journey before and after his procedure, revealing a portrait of grief and resilience as her family's patriarch loses what once defined him.
Cuando su abuelo pierde la voz a causa del cáncer, la cineasta Gabriella Canal captura el viaje personal antes y después de su procedimiento, revelando un retrato de dolor y resiliencia cuando el patriarca de su familia pierde lo que una vez lo definió.
Director: Gabriella Canal
Cinematographer: Gabriella Canal
Featuring: Cesar Augusto Rojas Franco, Maria Teresa Canal, Sonia Margarita Rojas
Editor: María Luisa Santos
Producer - Sandra Tan & PROM Creative
Original Music - John Paul Canal
Consulting Editor: Brendan Hall
Colorist: Samuel Gursky
Breath Artist: Dominic Shodekeh Talifero
Supervising Sound Editor / Re-Recording Mixer: Jesse Herrera
Sound Designer / Sound Editor: Greg Williams
Motion Graphics Artist: Dennis Fries
Poster Art: Hayley Canal
Executive Producers: Maria Teresa Garcia de Rojas & Joan C. Schoeffel
A Bonanza Production
Official Selection:
Urbanworld Film Festival - 2024 Honorable Mention for Best Short Documentary
Houston Latino Film Festival - 2025 Jury Award for Best Documentary Short Film
The Cartagena Film Festival, or FICCI - 2024 "De Indias" Award Recipient
Florida Film Festival 2024 Official Selection
Indy Shorts International Film Festival - 2024 Official Selection
Aesthetica Film Festival - 2024 Official Selection
Philadelphia Latino Arts & Film Festival - 2025 Official Selection
Orange County Latino International Film Festival - 2024 Official Selection
The Film Collective Short Film Festival - 2024 Official Selection
In loving memory of Cesar Rojas. If you or someone you know is a laryngectomy patient or caregiver, resources and community are available. The International Association of Laryngectomees and Lary’s Speakeasy offer education, support, and advocacy—and welcome donations to help sustain their work. For Spanish-speaking patients and caregivers, AdventHealth provides a free virtual support group to connect and heal in community.
En recuerdo de César Rojas. Si tú o alguien que conoces es un paciente de laringectomía o cuidador, hay recursos y apoyo disponible. La Asociación Internacional de Laringectomías y Lary’s Speakeasy ofrecen educación, apoyo y defensa de derechos, y también reciben donaciones para ayudar a sostener su trabajo. Para pacientes y cuidadores que hablan español, AdventHealth ofrece un grupo de apoyo virtual y gratuito.
About Gabriella Canal
Gabriella Canal (she/her) is a documentary filmmaker and journalist living in Brooklyn. Inspired by her upbringing in a Colombian-American household, she produces character-driven stories rooted in identity and belonging with a focus on women’s voices. She also loves highlighting the efforts of those working to improve human lives and protect the environment. Her independent work as a director, DP and editor has won a Student Academy Award, and been published in and featured by The New Yorker, The Video Consortium, New York Women in Film and Television and the National Association of Latino Independent Producers. She has directed or produced short branded documentary work for The Atlantic Re:think, The Nature Conservancy, Stripe, among others. One of those, a documentary series she directed on criminal justice data for non-profit Measures For Justice was Webby-nominated this year. Another won two Anthem Awards within the same year. In 2022, she became a Pulitzer Center Fellow and an adjunct professor at Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism.
