ann cabano - director, Producer, editor, mom

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My beautiful son Joey was my youngest child and only son. He was my baby-boy-man and had a huge heart and a unusual compassion not found very often fostered in men. He surrounded himself with other humans that were as kind, as clever and as loving as he was. He touched the life & heart of every person that crossed his path. He was as unique as his heterochomia tri-colored eyes.

On October 7th, 2020 I lost my son-shine by his own choice, by his own hand. My world was shattered. Completely. His loss is a deep well, a deep shock, a deep hole that will never be filled. 

As a social impact filmmaker that focuses on mental wellness and advocates for compassion and understanding of the human condition...I questioned EVERYTHING I had ever done in my life prior to this most traumatic moment. 

Was it even worth anything to have all these hard conversations if I could not even see this tragedy coming? If I could not help my own baby-boy-man? Why would I ever continue this work?

As I started my grief journey, I shared my process on social media and on my blog.  I soon began to realize our world NEEDS to talk about trauma, and ptsd, and grief. My stories of healing, raw and vulnerable, sparked private messages and responses that told me that I needed to keep fighting, somehow.

Then I came across footage of my son that I had forgotten about. Footage I shot myself for another project. I broke down in tears and in that moment I KNEW I needed to talk about the impact of suicide, the impact of grief. 

That is how Joemanland has come to be. 

I am a seed thrower, and my only hope is that my message lands on fertile ground. xo

Ann is a passionate advocate for humanity, giving voice to the human experience as a documentary film maker, holistic educator, and social advocate for the human condition. She is not afraid of tackling difficult topics and facilitating hard conversations promoting hope, healing and awareness with a desire to inspire action for social change and transformational growth.   

She spreads her message of love and human connection through education, awareness, kindness and compassion by teaching humans how to understand other humans. Approaching such topics as mental health, homelessness, suicide, trafficking, trauma, ptsd, lgbtqia+, women's issues, domestic violence, grief and more.  

Ann has been personally impacted by addiction, domestic violence,  suicide, and losing a child.  She hopes to focus future projects on bringing light to these topics and the impact of mental health.   

Ann has a Bachelor of Divinity in Ministerial Counseling and Metaphysical Healing, is a published author, a transformational coach and pop-folk artist.  Ann is the mother to three beautiful children and grandmother to four grandchildren.

She lives in Tempe, Arizona with her partner, her grey-fluffy cat and her step-dog 

Learn more at AnnCabano.com