Bio

Débora Souza Silva is an award-winning Afro-Brazilian filmmaker whose work examines systemic racism and inequality, while highlighting movements of Black resistance. Her work has been featured on NETFLIX, The New York Times, FRONTLINE | PBS, BBC, Reveal News, and KQED, among other platforms. Débora received the Les Payne Founder's Award from the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) and was selected for a The New York Times Institute Fellowship. She is a Board Member of the Studio IX, an organization supporting emerging women and nonbinary nonfiction filmmakers.

Débora is a recipient of the 2021 Creative Capital Award, a member of the 2020 Chicken & Egg(celerator) Lab and the 2019 Firelight Media Lab. She is also a recipient of the Athena Film Festival Breakthrough Award. Her work has also been funded by the Sundance Institute, Glassbreaker Films, the Investigative Reporting Program, Tribeca Film Institute, Fork Films, Perspective Fund, Catapult Film Fund, The Center for Investigative Reporting, Berkeley Film Foundation, Sisters in Cinema, International Documentary Association, DocPich, and California Humanities.

Débora’s debut feature documentary, FOR OUR CHILDREN premiered at the San Francisco International Film Festival, in 2022, and is currently streaming on NETFLIX.

Accomplishments

• 2023 Recipient of FRONTLINE | FIRELIGHT Fellowship

• 2023 Athena Film Festival Breakthrough Award

• 2022 Best Black Lens Film, Sidewalk Film Festival

• 2022 Recipient of Sundance Documentary Grant

• 2021 Recipient of the Creative Capital Award

• 2021 Sisters in Cinema Fellowship

• 2020 Recipient of the Chicken & Egg(celerator) Lab Fellowship

• 2020 Recipient of DocPich (Doclands) Jury Award

• 2020 Recipient of Athena WIP Program Fellowship

• 2019 Recipient of the Firelight Media Lab Fellowship

• 2018 Recipient of The Investigative Reporting Program Fellowship

• 2018 Recipient of Gracie Award for the Video Series “The Aftermath."

• 2018 Recipient of Garrett Scott Fellowship (Full Frame Film Festival).

• 2017 Recipient of The Center for Investigative Reporting/ Glassbreaker Fellowship

• 2016 Recipient of the IWMF Adelante Colombia Fellowship (International Women Media Foundation).

• 2016 Recipient of "Best Short Documentary" at the Silicon Valley Film Fest for "A New Rhythm for Mozambique."

• 2014 Recipient of The New York Times Journalism Institute.

• 2014 Recipient of the AAUW Career Development Grant (American Association of University Women).

• 2013 Recipient of NABJ's Les Payne Founder's Award (National Association of Black Journalists).