Shannon Silva

Shannon Silva holds an MFA in Film and Video Production from the University of Iowa and has taught at UNCW since 2006.

She is the director of the feature-length documentary It’s A Girl Thing: Tween Queens and the Commodification of Girlhood, which examines the commercialization of girlhood and has screened internationally and been acquired for educational distribution. Her experimental animated documentary To Live and Die in the Shadows: Meditations on Ferns, Survival, and Horizontal Gene Transfer, screened widely at national and international festivals, receiving multiple awards, including Best Environmental & Climate Short at the Mannheim Arts and Film Festival. Her narrative short Baby Oil was supported by a prestigious North Carolina Arts Council Fellowship.

Silva serves as the department’s Internship Coordinator and teaches documentary, experimental and animation production, film curation/exhibition and producing, with a focus on mentoring students for post-graduation success.

Education

M.F.A. in Cinema & Comparative Literature - Film Production, University of Iowa

Specialization in Teaching

Professor Silva teaches undergraduate and graduate film production, including documentary, experimental film, animation, and producing, with a strong emphasis on visual storytelling and professional practice. Her courses often center on process-driven production, essay and autobiographical filmmaking, film festivals/curation/exhibition, environmental media and experimental approaches to form.

Research Interests

Disability studies and environmental media; feminist theory and experimental film practice; animated documentary and material-based animation; climate storytelling, ecological vulnerability; accessibility, ethics, and sustainability in film production.

Professional Service

She has served as a juror, programmer, and screener for numerous film festivals, including Cucalorus, Uptilt Film Festival, the Charlotte Film Festival, Ann Arbor Film Festival and the University Film and Video Association. She is a Board Member for the Queer Fear Film Festival.

Community Engagement

Professor Silva's community engagement centers on mentorship, access, and media literacy through film production and exhibition. She founded and directed the VISIONS Film Festival and Conference (2006-2021). The event brought national and international filmmakers, scholars and artists to the University of North Carolina Wilmington while providing students with hands-on experience in festival programming, management, and professional exhibition. The initiative supported faculty/student research trips to SXSW Film Festival and the Virginia Film Festival.

She founded and co-supervised the Reel Girls Project, a community-based media literacy program that paired UNCW students with middle school girls to mentor them in autobiographical documentary filmmaking.

Additional outreach includes the UNCW Alumni Workshop Series, which connected students and recent graduates with industry professionals through public lectures and discussions focused on equity, career pathways, and creative sustainability.

Through workshops, screenings, and public-facing programming, Silva’s work fosters inclusive creative communities and expands access to film education beyond the classroom.

Honors & Awards

North Carolina Arts Fellowship
Best Social Justice Documentary, Philadelphia Independent Film Festival
Best Environmental & Climate Short, Mannheim Arts and Film Festival
Juror’s Choice Award, Centre Film Festival
Best Experimental Short, Denver Underground Film Festival
Nominee, Distinguished Faculty Scholar Award, University of North Carolina Wilmington