SEDT Alumna Wins Five National Academy Of Television Arts & Sciences Awards
When Domenicca Botero’s 88-year-old grandfather—Medardo Alberto Cevallas Balda—passed away in March of 2020, she struggled to accept his loss.
“During the time that he passed away up until the funeral, I was convinced that it was a mistake,” Botero said.
Fueled by those raw emotions, Botero—who earned a bachelor’s degree in film production from the School of Entertainment & Design Technology in 2021—wrote Silver Waters, a 13-minute film about an elderly woman named Marisol who is in denial about her husband’s death.
The film resonated with audiences.
On May 6, Silver Waters won a $2,000 prize for capturing first place at The Palm Beaches Student Showcase of Films in the College Feature/Short Awards category, the largest student film competition in Florida.
The following day, the film won five production awards—Best Long Form Fiction, Best Photography, Best Editing, Best Audio and Best Writing—at the Suncoast Student Production Awards sponsored by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, the same organization that hands out Emmys.
“It’s emotional, it’s a good story and she did it in a very interesting way,” said Barry Gordon, the SEDT chairperson.
Botero wrote Silver Waters in the summer of 2020 with her friend, Daniel Bellot, for their film workshop course at North Campus. In the spring of 2021, she assembled a crew of film students, alumni and industry professionals.
She served as the film’s director and producer.
“Nobody knows the story better than her and nobody knows the footage better than I do,” said Samuel Romero, who served as the film’s cinematographer and was the co-winner of the Best Editing and Best Photography awards for Silver Waters at the Suncoast Awards.
The short film was shot in three locations—Botero’s home in Miami Shores, Coral Gables Congregational Church and Virginia Key Beach. It was finalized in November of 2021. The beach was a key element of the film, serving as an homage to Botero’s grandparents who honeymooned at a beach in Veracruz, Mexico.
When choosing a name for the film, she merged the idea of seawater and the silver color of an elderly person’s hair. That led her to Silver Waters.
Now she is on to her next project.
Botero, who is currently working in the art department for an Apple TV show based on the book Bad Monkey, plans to use the Palm Beach award money for her next film Playing Pretend. It follows a little boy trying to understand death. She hopes to finish the film by the end of the year.
But despite her busy schedule, Botero has been able to reflect on the impact Silver Waters has had on her career.
“It means a lot to me [to win these awards] because everyone worked really hard for it and I’m glad everyone is reaping what they sowed,” Botero said.
