Joella Cabalu is a Filipino Canadian documentary filmmaker based in Vancouver, BC. Her films lay bare narratives about intimacies, identities, and relationships.

Her first mid-length documentary, It Runs in the Family (2016) — a personal exploration of acceptance and what the modern queer family can be in the Filipino diaspora — won the Audience Choice Awards at the Seattle Asian American Film Festival (SAAFF) and Vancouver Queer Film Festival and a special jury mention at CAAMFest for the Loni Ding Award for Social Justice Documentary.

Joella approaches contemporary social issues with careful attention to nuance and levity.  Her most recent short documentaries include Crystal Pite: Wordless Language (2022) for the National Film Board and Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards Foundation, Ode to a Seafaring People (SAAFF 2021) for Knowledge Network, and Koto: The Last Service (DOXA 2021) with support from the BC Arts Council and now available on CBC Gem. With the National Film Board Digital Studio, Joella curated the digital photography project First Photo Here (2020), which salutes the photos newcomers to Canada share with friends and family back home.

As a producer, Joella has worked alongside women directors to realize critically acclaimed short documentaries, including On Falling (Tribeca 2020), Biker Bob’s Posthumous Adventure (Lunenburg 2019), Do I Have Boobs Now? (Slamdance 2017), and FIXED! (DOXA 2017). In 2022, she produced her first feature documentary back home with support from the Telefilm Talent to Watch fund. The film was invited to Cannes Docs 2022 and celebrated its hometown World Premiere at the Vancouver International Film Festival.

Joella is currently in production on her first feature documentary as a director and writer, Nakabingwit: First Comes Love, with the National Film Board. Repurposing the rom-com aesthetic in a documentary, the film reveals how three Filipinas and their white romantic partners navigate conversations about race and love.

Joella is a member of the Directors Guild of Canada and an alumni of the Langara Documentary Production Program (2015), the BC Arts Council Early Career Development program (2014-2015), Hot Docs Shaw Media Diverse Voices program (2015), CBC Development Workshop for Diverse Creators (2016), and the Cannes Docs Docs-in-Progress Canadian Showcase (2022).

Photo credit: Clare Yow