- 2020 — Festival del Cinema Latinoamericano di Trieste, Italy.
- ~~Malvinas Award
- 2017 — Fundación Vicki Bernadet, Barcelona. fada Cultural Award.
- ~~Second Winner
- 2017 — Festival Brasil de Cinema Internacional, Rio de Janeiro.
- ~~Best Documentary Feature Honorary Mention
- 2017 — Guayaquil International Film Festival, Ecuador.
- ~~Golden Iguana and Best Documentary Feature
- 2016 — Malibu International Film Festival, California.
- ~~Best Documentary
MALVINAS AWARD
2020
FESTIVAL DEL CINEMA LATINOAMERICANO DI TRIESTE
ITALY
Award to the film that best interprets the values of respect and observance of international law, civil coexistence between peoples and the peaceful resolution of conflicts.
Awarded to the documentary
Arenas de silencio: Olas de valor
“because it deals with the topic of sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of women, unfortunately still very current and close to us”. “The director built the film showing the history of several women who share a past of violence, including herself, and yet they manage to overcome it thanks to solidarity”.
The National Institute of Argentine Cinema and Audiovisual Arts (INCAA)
participated in the selection of films that compete for this section.
WOMEN’S STRUGGLES & RIGHTS AWARD
2018
PORTO FEMME INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
Porto, Portugal
Watch Chelo’s TheWIFTS Award acceptance speech
2017 BEST DOCUMENTARY – HUMANITARIAN
TheWIFTS
(Women’s International Film and Television Showcase)
TheWIFTS Foundation International Visionary Awards
Los Angeles, California
Jury’s comment:
“Sands of Silence is a remarkable film, in that through the potency of its storytelling, it exposes the humanitarian issue both on the surface and beneath, of the suffering of individuals affected by this odious crime. The film has emboldened others to speak and to no longer live in the ‘silence’.”
2017 WINNER FEATURE DOCUMENTARY
59th Southern California Journalism Awards
Los Angeles, California
Comment by the Judges (from Los Angeles Press Club, the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. and other press clubs in the country):
“In a searing exploration of the sexual exploitation and trafficking of women worldwide, journalist Chelo Alvarez-Stehle also documents her own relatives’ sexual abuse, as well as her own, as they work through their efforts at coping and healing. A moving, poignant documentary of women learning to deal with the physiological and psychological stresses of abuse.”
2107 BEST DOCUMENTARY NOMINEE
32nd Imagen Awards
Beverly Hills, California
The Imagen Awards by the Imagen Foundation are considered the Latino Golden Globes. The only premier Latino entertainment awards program dedicated to honoring the positive portrayal and creative excellence of Latinos and Latino cultures on screen.
2017 FADA CULTURAL AWARD
Vicky Bernadet Foundation
Barcelona, Spain
The award aims to promote awareness and prevention of child sexual abuse in different artistic spheres, such as literature, music, journalism, and dramatic and audiovisual arts. First prize went to the book Instrumental by renowned pianist James Rhodes. “Sands of Silence” won over the also nominated Academy Award-winner film “Spotlight”.
The jury of Fundació Vicki Bernadet selected our film for being “a song to life and to reconciliation with our past. A work that shows us that it is only possible to overcome the devastating effects of sexual abuse if we are not alone.”
BEST DOCUMENTARY and GOLDEN IGUANA
2017 Guayaquil International Film Festival
Guayaquil, Ecuador
HONORABLE MENTION
BEST INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY
2017 Brazil International Cinema Film Festival
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
BEST DOCUMENTARY
2016 Malibu International Film Festival
Malibu, California
Chelo Alvarez-Stehle with main characters Virginia Isaias and daughter Lala Isaias
AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARD
2016 Malibu International Film Festival
Malibu, California
Chelo Alvarez-Stehle receives the award from Skye Kelly, Awareness Film Festival founder
BEST FEATURE DOCUMENTARY
AUDIENCE AWARD
2016 AWARENES FILM FESTIVAL
Los Angeles, California
