DOCUMENTARY | 20:00

In the Tigray region of Ethiopia, the documentary The Strength of Silence follows the life of Letebirhan, a 17-year-old girl whose life was fractured by war. Kidnapped, a survivor of sexual violence, and left to raise a child born from trauma, she faces rejection from her community and family. Her survival relies not only on the bread she bakes to sustain herself but also on an ancestral ritual: the coffee ceremony, where women like her transform silence into a powerful act of resistance and sisterhood.

Director Biography - Samuel Vela

Samuel Vela Pérez is a Hispanic-Bolivian filmmaker, born in Cochabamba on March 7, 1986. He studied film in Madrid thanks to an Ibermedia scholarship for Spanish-speaking countries. Since his first directorial work, Voluntary Return, he has maintained a sensitive and socially engaged perspective in his filmmaking. He co-produced the short film La Baldosa (Spain) alongside renowned director Manuel Martín Cuenca (The Weakness of the Bolshevik, The Daughter), under the La Loma Blanca Cine label and with support from INCAA. He also worked on the series Finding Little Italy (Italy).

He is currently developing The Journey of the Wind, a feature-length documentary in Bolivia, and leads the production and writing team for the documentary The Sound of My Identity, a Mexican production. He is also working on The Strength of Silence, his new project in collaboration with Luz Norte Films.