Gabriela is a native of Johannesburg, South Africa, and a graduate of UCLA's theater and film department. She has directed over ten short films, which have played in festivals worldwide, won numerous awards, and screened on HBO.
Tollman wrote, directed, co-produced, and acted in THE LAST GUNSHOT that played in over 25 festivals and won The International Cinematographer's Guild Award, which screened the film at Cannes. Tollman wrote and directed BIRTH OF INDUSTRY, which won the Los Angeles Short Film Grant from Kodak, Panavision, and Filmmakers Alliance. BIRTH OF INDUSTRY played in over 20 festivals and was awarded the John Williams award for Visual Excellence at the Cleveland Film Festival. Her film YOU TURNED BACK AND HELD MY HAND screened at numerous festivals, including the Sundance Film Festival, to much acclaim.
Her first feature film, titled SOMEBODY'S MOTHER, was released theatrically in October 2017 to rave reviews. According to the Los Angeles Times, "Somebody's Mother tackles a terrible loss and its aftermath with knowing empathy." SOMEBODY'S MOTHER is now available for streaming on Amazon Prime, Itunes, and GooglePlay.
Tollman recently completed the short film LOVELY and is attached to direct the award-winning screenplay titled APART.
