Faviola Leyva is an award-winning filmmaker, videographer, producer and editor who focuses on lifting voices from historically marginalized communities. Based in San Diego, she is a co-founder of Collective Focus Films, where she helps make impact-driven documentary films and branded video for organizations whose work moves us toward a more just, equitable, and sustainable future. Previously, she was a video producer on Teach For America's brand and marketing team, where she also helped launch the One Day Studio video storytelling team. Faviola’s short documentary about high school swimmers, “The New Lifeguards of West Las Vegas,” won “Best Documentary” at the 2022 SLICE Film Fest. After studying sociology and Spanish at the University of California, Santa Barbara, she earned her Master of Journalism from the University of California, Berkeley, where she worked on the Student Academy Award-nominated film, “The Search”.  Her work on award-winning documentaries includes  FRONTLINE’s “Rape on the Night Shift.”

 

Faviola has reported from Argentina, Belize, and throughout the United States. In addition to her video work, Faviola has taught high school video production classes in Oakland, CA. She is fluent in English and Spanish.