Silent Noise

Silent Noise
Jonathan “Onat” Diaz | 2026
(Best Asian Content) Global OTT Awards 2026

In coastal Escondido, 10-year-old deaf Eli grapples with his teacher Sam Ignacio’s sudden death. As police investigate, suspicion targets his family. Eli witnesses his home fall apart while devastating secrets emerge.

Cinematographer’s Notes:
After working on multiple projects with Onat Diaz, we wanted The Silent Noise to feel visually distinct from the worlds we had built together before. I loved the opportunity to bring together the cinematic language of a film with the pace and rhythm of a television production, finding a balance between crafted images and the honesty of moments that feel raw and unforced. Framing became especially important in a story shaped by Filipino Sign Language; we had to be conscious of how we composed each scene, allowing the characters’ hands, faces, and expressions the space they needed to communicate. More than anything, I wanted the cinematography to serve the quiet tensions within the family, letting the silences, gestures, and spaces between people carry as much weight as the words left unspoken.