The Silent Break

Joel Bouah is a screenwriter, playwright, and director whose work centers on intimate, character-driven stories exploring emotional invisibility, mental health, marriage, economic pressure, and human connection. He trained as an actor at HB Studio in New York and at The Acting Ensemble in Paris, developing a performance-centered approach to writing and directing. Joel has written two full-length, unpublished plays, The Enemy Within and Franck, as well as an unpublished one-act play, It’s Not Easy. Those pieces examine unforgiveness, silence within relationships, identity tied to success and responsibility, and the quiet moral conflicts people carry in private. The Silent Break marks his directorial debut, which he also wrote and produced. Through his work, Joel seeks to tell stories that invite empathy, reflection, and attentiveness toward others.

Joel is currently writing his first feature film while working on his next short film.

Melissa Morales is a NYC based film and multimedia professional hailing from Brooklyn. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Film Production from Brooklyn College. Melissa has extensive hands-on experience across more than 35+ film, fashion, music video, and event productions and is skilled in managing projects from development to post, with expertise in scheduling, logistics and production coordination. As the 1st Assistant Director, Melissa highly values communication, collaboration, and on-set coordination, working closely with the director and production team. She approaches each production with a high level of detail and precision, meticulously managing schedules, crews, and workflows to ensure a successful, efficient shoot.

Eden Allegretti is a joyous and passionate New York City–based actor working across film and theater. Her screen work, booked in 2025, includes leading roles in short films such as A Moment of Silence, Magic, Stalemate, Abducted Dames, and We See You, with supporting performances in Doppelganger, Evaporation, Water, Be My Friend, and Solar Shepards.
On stage, she has appeared in productions including The Devil Wears Payless (Post Office Cabaret tour), Wilde Card: A Comedy Variety Show, and multiple works with Helltown Players. With training in drama, improv, sketch and drag comedy, and vocal performance, Eden brings versatility and emotional precision to her work. When not performing, she enjoys honing her craft in class, exploring new coffee shops, and rollerskating.

Grace-Mary Burega is a composer of socially conscious documentaries, films, and media. She aims to use her strong thematic ideas as a call to action for various causes. Her music spans the orchestral, electronic, minimalist, and jazz genres. Grace Notes is her media composing company, for which she has scored over 50 projects, including short and feature films, video games, PSAs, and advertisements. Her credits include the romance drama Before We Begin (2025, Prime Video), the horror film Bad Voodoo (2026, VOD), the documentary Humans and Other Animals (2024, Prime Video), and the comedy short Bathroom Trouble (2025, Reveel). 

Grace-Mary is a graduate of the Berklee Online Masters of Music in Film Scoring program and the Berklee College of Music undergraduate Film & TV Scoring program.  Grace-Mary was the winner of the 2023 Able Artist Foundation track contest for disabled composers and musicians. She is a voting member of the Recording Academy and a member of Recording Artists and Music Professionals with Disabilities (RAMPD). 

Razvan Barseti is a London-based film editor working across drama short films and documentaries. His work has screened internationally at major festivals, including BAFTA- and Oscar-qualifying events such as Cannes – Semaine de la Critique, Palm Springs International ShortFest, Austin Film Festival, Sarajevo Film Festival, Tampere Film Festival, and Aesthetica Film Festival.

Razvan has edited over 35 short films and documentaries from around the world, collaborating on projects in multiple languages and across diverse cultural contexts. His experience spans narrative, documentary, and branded content, with commercial clients including Ford, Qantas Airways, Fashion TV, and Smyths Toys. A graduate of the London Film School, he is also a Berlinale Talents Sarajevo alumnus and has served as a lead editor and mentor for London Filmworks workshops since 2018.