Jeffrey Gabriel Silva is a photographer and filmmaker based in Chicago.
He studied photography at the International Center of Photography (ICP) and participated in the 2024 Alex and Rebecca Norris Webb Workshop at the Magnum Foundation in New York. Jeff currently teaches photography at Chicago Photography Classes and mentors photographers privately.
Jeff holds an MFA in Film and Television Directing from DePaul University. His films have screened at the Chicago Latino Film Festival, the PROOF Film Festival (Los Angeles), and the Icaro International Film Festival (Guatemala). His short film The Black Monk won the Team Deakins Collegiate Short Film Contest in 2026.
contact: jeff@jeffreysilva.com
social: @jeffreygabrielsilva
Selected CV
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2026 Winner: Team Deakins Collegiate Short Film Contest at The Athenaeum Center: The Black Monk
2026 Nominee: Outstanding Short Form Documentary, 57th NAACP Image Awards: Cirilo, A Legacy Untold
2024 Winner: City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) Grant
2024 Finalist: Sundance Feature Film Development Track
2023 Winner: Best Directing, DePaul Premiere Film Festival: The Black Monk
2023 Nominee: Faculty Judges’ Award: DePaul Premiere Film Festival: The Black Monk
2023 Nominee: Best Writing: DePaul Premiere Film Festival: The Black Monk
2023 Nominee: Best Cinematography, Indie Series Awards: BIBI
2023 Honorable Mention, Paris Film Awards: Reservations
2022 Winner: Best Cinematography, DePaul Premiere Film Festival: Phantom Heart
2022 Winner: Audience Choice Award, Chicago International REEL Shorts Film Festival: Sororidad
2022 Nominee: Best Directing, DePaul Premiere Film Festival: Sororidad
2022 Nominee: Best Cinematography, DePaul Premiere Film Festival: Sororidad
2022 Nominee: Faculty Judges’ Award, DePaul Premiere Film Festival: Sororidad
2021 Winner: Best Cinematography, Down & Dirty Film Festival: Tilapia
2021 Nominee: Best Direction, Down & Dirty Film Festival: Tilapia
2021 Nominee: Judges’ Favorite, Down & Dirty Film Festival: Tilapia
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The Black Monk (writer, producer, director)
2026 Team Deakins Collegiate Short Film Contest (Chicago, IL)
2024 Hispanic Heritage Month Series at The Music Box Theatre (Chicago, IL)
2024 Chicago Latino Film Festival (Chicago, IL)
2023 The PROOF Film Festival (Los Angeles, CA)
2023 Seattle Latino Film Festival (Seattle, WA)
2023 Xibalbá - III Muestra de Cine de Terror en Centroamérica (Guatemala)
2023 ICARO International Film Festival (Guatemala)
2023 DePaul Premiere Film Festival (Chicago, IL)
Sororidad (writer, producer, director)
2023 LatinX Independent Short Films Showcase - Chicago Public Libraries (Chicago, IL)
2022 DePaul Premiere Film Festival (Chicago, IL)
2022 Chicago International REEL Shorts Film Festival (Chicago, IL)
Same Love (writer, producer, director)
2022 Chicago South Asian Film Festival (Chicago, IL)
Under the Door (director)
2025 Mental Filmness (Chicago, IL)
Laberintos (writer, producer, director)
2022 D.E.F. Showcase (Chicago, IL)
Tilapia (writer, producer, director)
2021 Down & Dirty Film Festival (Chicago, IL)
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Reservations (cinematographer)
2023 Paris Film Awards (Paris, France)
2023 The Romford Film Festival (Romford, England)
2023 Berkeley Springs Film Festival (Berkeley Springs, WV)
Phantom Heart (cinematographer)
2022 Milwaukee Film Festival (Milwaukee, WI)
2022 WILDSound Feedback Festival (Toronto, Canada)
2022 Port of Fear Film Fest (Kenosha, WI)
The Single Line Theory (cinematographer, colorist)
2021 Chicago International REEL Shorts Film Festival (Chicago, IL)
2021 Winnipeg Real to Reel Film Festival (Winnipeg, Canada)
2021 Blue Whiskey Independent Film Festival (Chicago, IL)
2021 The Romford Film Festival (Romford, England)
2021 IHSFF at the Phoenix Film Festival (Phoenix, AZ)
2021 Unrestricted View Film Festival (London, England)
2021 Chicago Indie Film Awards (Chicago, IL)
2020 Indie Shorts Awards Cannes (Cannes, France)
Blue Giraffe (cinematographer, editor, colorist)
2020 The Midwest Film Festival (Chicago, IL)
2020 Chicago Comedy Film Festival (Chicago, IL)
Gatekeeper (cinematographer)
2019 Holiday Video Party at the Music Box Theater (Chicago, IL)
2019 Generation Latinx Show at iO Chicago (Chicago, IL)