Awkward Silence

One night I had my picture taken with a good friend. Little did I know that this photo would take me on an almost three year adventure in filmmaking. As I starred at the photo I began to think, “This would make an interesting movie poster.” I shared my observation and she suggested I turn it into one. As I studied our photo the title, “Awkward Silence” came to mind. Mostly because of our awkward facial expressions, body language, and the fact you couldn’t tell if we were friends, siblings, dating or just perfect strangers. When I had finished creating the poster for this faux film I began to wonder, “What if I turned this into a real movie?”

This project gave me the opportunity to work with the deaf community for the first time. It was exciting to learn about the depths of deaf culture, their representation in the industry and using ASL in film. It opened a new perspective in telling a story about cultural differences and language barriers.

Growing up my parents would often tell me stories on how they first met and started dating. Despite my mom barely being able to speak Spanish and my dad’s limited English, they found a way to make it work. My parents eventually became fluent in each other’s language and were together for over 3o years before my mom’s passing.

Awkward Silence is a short film that hopes to tell an unconventional love story about the tests couples must take, in order to see if their relationship is worth fighting for. In the end I hope this film leaves you with an answer to the question, “Can love speak in more than one language?”