Shannon Silva is a multi-modal filmmaker and Film Studies Professor at UNC Wilmington.
Her work, which explores identity and social justice, has screened internationally. Notable films include It’s A Girl Thing (Best Social Documentary, Philadelphia Independent Film Festival), Baby Oil (NC Arts Council Fellowship) and To Live and Die in the Shadows: Meditations on Ferns, Survival, and Horizontal Gene Transfer ( Best Environmental & Climate Short at the Mannheim Arts Film Festival).
She is a recipient of the prestigious North Carolina Arts Council Fellow and was awarded a competitive Charles L. Cahill grant.
She is currently in development for Burn, a lyrical essay film that examines the intersection of disability, migration and climate change. She has been awarded a 2025 CHSSA Travel Grant and a 2026 Research Reassignment for the project.
Along with André Silva, she is the co-founder of the Expanded Environmentalism initiative. Silva previous served as Executive Director for Visions Film Festival & Conference and Screenplay Competition Director for Austin Film Festival.