The Ebony Canal, Narrated by Viola Davis Wins Big with Two International Webby Awards for Black Infant and Maternal Health

These latest honors fuel the film’s mission to reach wider audiences and spark lasting change in how birth experiences are supported.

/EIN News/ -- New York, New York, April 25, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Less than a week following National Black Maternal Health Week, The Ebony Canal, directed by four-time Emmy Award-winner Emmai Alaquiva and narrated by EGOT winner Viola Davis, has been honored with two prestigious accolades at the 29th Annual Webby Awards.

• The Ebony Canal: A Story of Black Infant Health is a Webby Winner and Webby People’s Voice Winner in Video & Film - Independent Short Film.
• The Ebony Canal: A Story of Black Infant Health is a Webby People’s Voice Winner in Video & Film - Documentary: Shortform.

The Webby Awards, hailed by The New York Times as the “Internet’s highest honor,” celebrate excellence online. This year’s competition saw nearly 13,000 entries from over 70 countries, with more than 3 million votes cast by over 750,000 people.

“To receive not one, but two Webby Awards is beyond anything we imagined and everything we hoped for,” said Emmai Alaquiva, Director of The Ebony Canal. “We are humbled to have this stage to amplify this crisis to so many more people around the globe — our ultimate success marker is to save more babies and birthing people. We are in a state of gratitude with this honor.”

The Ebony Canal exposes the urgent crisis in Black maternal and infant health by weaving together generational family stories, hard data, and the perspectives of national leaders working to save Black lives. The documentary features the birthing journey of four families including Mariah Peoples, Larissa Lane, Alana Yzola Daly, and Rachel Strader, and includes leading advocates like Former VP Kamala Harris, Actor Lamman Rucker, Kimberly Seals Allers, Charles Johnson, and Latham Thomas. The film has screened at major festivals including Sundance, the Pan African Film Festival, and the Joburg Film Festival in South Africa.

The project was made possible by the generosity of the Richard King Mellon Foundation, the August Wilson African American Cultural Center, with an acclaimed team of Executive Producers including Brenda Gilbert (Co-Founder, BRON Studios), Sanjay Rawal (Food Chains, Gather on Netflix), and Lekha Singh (Beyond Right & Wrong, Women of the White Buffalo). Consulting Executive Producer William Andre Buchanan also played a key role in helping guide the film’s strategic direction.

The Ebony Canal will be honored at the 29th Annual Webby Awards in New York City on May 12, 2025, with the opportunity to deliver one of the ceremony’s hallmark 5-Word Speeches.

About The Ebony Canal

The Ebony Canal, narrated by Academy Award winner Viola Davis, is a poignant documentary that delves into the disparities of infant mortality and maternal health among Black and Brown women, weaving together powerful stories of healing and hope to inspire a new wave of solution-driven practices that transform the future of maternal care.

Media strategy and public relations for The Ebony Canal are provided by Perry Media, a firm committed to amplifying stories that shift culture and spark impact.

Find us online:

Website: https://theebonycanal.com

Instagram: @theebonycanal

Hashtags: #TheEbonyCanal #BlackMaternalHealth #WebbyAwards #FilmForChange

Media Assets: The Ebony Canal Assets

Attachments

• Viola Davis and Emmai Alaquiva Record The Ebony Canal
• From Sundance Premiere to Webby Wins The Ebony Canal Inspires Change

Dimitra Diggs
                    The Ebony Canal
                    717-319-7053
                    Dimitra@perrymedia.com