Nació Simón
San Juan, Puerto Rico | Film Feature
Documentary, LGBTQ
Love, motherhood, and self-acceptance take center stage in NACIÓ SIMÓN, a celebration of diversity in all its forms.
Nació Simón
San Juan, Puerto Rico | Film Feature
Documentary, LGBTQ
1 Campaigns | San Juan, Puerto Rico
Green Light
This campaign raised $15,050 for post-production. Follow the filmmaker to receive future updates on this project.
120 supporters | followers
Enter the amount you would like to pledge
Love, motherhood, and self-acceptance take center stage in NACIÓ SIMÓN, a celebration of diversity in all its forms.
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
NACIÓ SIMÓN navigates the blurry lines between who is Simón as a mother and a drag king, living in Puerto Rico. The documentary explores drag culture not only as an entertainment form, but more as an artistic manifestation of freedom, resistance and self-expression.
Simón is shown in their daily life: working, taking care of their kids as a young, queer/non-binary mother, surviving through the COVID-19 pandemic and the colonial, heteronormative landscape of the island: one filled with prejudices and violence in its predetermined gender roles.
NACIÓ SIMÓN is all about the resistance and survival of the community through Simón, and their quest to continue exploring their different identities--with and without--the presence of their alter-ego and drag king persona in their day-to-day life.
A NOTE FROM THE DIRECTOR
I am a part of the Puerto Rican LGBTTQIA+ community. My pronouns are they/them. And I love going to drag shows.
Drag shows are a space we can call ours and where we can celebrate our diversities. During the shows, I admire the performers' creativity to call out and stand up against the current political and social issues that are happening in the island.
Simón was the first drag king I ever saw doing this. I could not contain my emotions when I saw their profound and joyous act. I haven't missed one of Simón's shows since.
When I found out Simón is also a mother of two, I was even more touched by their bravery to be themself, alongside the challenges of motherhood. Simón's unapologetic life has the power of connecting with a lot of people who might see themselves in Simón's struggles and desires.
Subconsciously, documenting Simón has also been about exploring my own identity as a non-binary person and how that identity can manifest in many different ways. My urgency in directing this documentary inevitably stems from my own questions about my gender identity and my aversion to the binary labels that govern society and our lives. It took me almost thirty years for me to feel comfortable expressing my gender identity as a non-binary person. I resented the imposed label of "woman" for a long time, but I didn't feel the label of "man" was correct or appealing to me either.
This documentary seeks to celebrate the identities that resist the violence brought upon by what is supposed to be "normal" in our society, and also represents an intention of being unapologetic about our own work: in all its queerness and resourcefulness as one, big community.
TECHNICAL SPECS
ORIGINAL TITLE | Nació Simón
GENRE | Documentary Feature
COUNTRY | Puerto Rico
CO-PRODUCTION | Brasil
PRODUCTION COMPANY | Filmes Casa
LANGUAGE | Spanish
SUBTITLES | Spanish, English and Portuguese
DIGITAL FORMAT | 4K
AUDIO | Stereo 5.1
RUNTIME | 70 minutes
WHAT WE'VE DONE SO FAR
NACIÓ SIMÓN has finished filming and is currently in post-production!
We are close to finishing our final cut with our editor Keily J. Estrada (BR). We are also working on the music licensing with our partners and associate producers Oasis Music Network and the legal team The SIFRE Group. We have also confirmed our sound designer (Brazil), and secured a partnership for potential distribution with Preciosa Media, Colombia.
Recently, NACIÓ SIMÓN has participated in the Philadelphia Latino Film Festival Work-in-Progress Lab and the Docs in Progress Lab by Docs MX where we were awarded a prize in post production services. In November 2021 we participated in the film market FICCALI (Salón de Productores y Proyectos Cinematográficos en Colombia) in Cali, Colombia, where we received a total of eight (8) awards in services, amongst them post production, distribution and publicity services as well as a partnership with Retina Tr3s. The documentary has also been welcomed in spaces such as Miradas Doc, (International Documentary Film Festival and Market of Tenerife) where it won the Development and Distribution Award offered by Tree Line, and the isLAB Workshop (Film Development Lab in Puerto Rico).
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Currently, NACIÓ SIMÓN is part of the Firelight Media Documentary Lab Program 2021-23; an 18-month fellowship program that ensures mentoring until our premiere.
Our goal is finish the film and premiere nationally on Pride Month next year! Simultaneously, we want to have a film festival circuit with festivals that are focused on documentary storytelling, Latinx perspectives and LGBTTQIA+ narratives.
With a painted on mustache, a bomb jacket on, and some salsa and reggaetón music playing in the background, wherever we've gone, Simón has managed to captivate national and international audiences! These experiences have been key to demonstrating that our documentary carries has a unique but universal story.
WHAT DO WE NEED?
Well, Simón is a show-stopping performer and it's all about the MUSIC!
Each song is an integral part of the documentary's narrative. Lis/Simón story is weaved through drag performances and lip-syncs, making all the songs core elements of the film.
As a drag king and a non-binary person, Simón uses salsa, merengue and reggaetón songs as a medium to challenge the status quo. Every show is a revolutionary, empowering and transformative act of self-acceptance. We not only get to see the powerful drag shows and the community behind them, but also how music itself becomes an instrument for political and personal conviction. Moreover, NACIÓ SIMÓN has a musical journey that is authentic in representing Puerto Rico's urban musical culture from a uniquely queer point-of-view.
The funds would allow us to finish our post-production process, as well as help us with our music licensing fees. To achieve our crowdfunding goal would lead us to the next milestone for the documentary.
HOW TO HELP!
If you’d like to support this project, but you aren’t in a place to contribute monetarily, no worries! Here are some other ways you can help us out:
- Follow us on Social Media @naciosimon for updates at every step of the way. Share the following on your social media: “Help filmmaker @pecacruz by supporting the @naciosimon on @seedandspark! Join them here: https://seedandspark.com/fund/nacio-simon"
- Follow us on Seed&Spark! (It’s free!) Seed&Spark rewards us for building our audience. Once we hit 250 “followers,” regardless of how many people pledge, we'll start unlocking creator discounts, products, services, and festival fee waivers for this and future projects, courtesy of Seed & Spark!
- Share this page far and wide!
Have suggestions, ideas, or other services? Reach out and say hello!
Email our Producer, Sama Pérez Santiago ([email protected])
Now, go and make it rain! Thank you for the support!
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Sound Mix
Costs $4,500
With this money we will be able to do the final post-sound for the documentary!
Salsa Songs
Costs $3,500
Help us get the music licenses for popular salsa songs from Puerto Rico!
Reggaeton Songs
Costs $3,500
Let's put some perreo in this documentary!
Merengue Songs
Costs $3,500
Help us get more national merengue in Nació Simón!
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
DIRECTOR // Pati Cruz (they/them), born cuir (queer) and brought up catholic in the colonized archipelago of Borikén (Puerto Rico). The catholic slowly disappeared, the cuir stuck around. Obtained a Bachelor of Arts with a major in Film Studies at Vassar College, in Poughkeepsie, New York (2012), and studied Film Directing at the International School of Film and TV in San Antonio de los Baños, Cuba (2015-2018). In 2019, they co-wrote and directed the short film “La amante” (“The Mistress”) which has been selected at international film festivals, such as Raindance Film Festival, trinidad+tobago film festival, Philadelphia Latino Film Festival (LOLA award), and Reeling: The Chicago LGBTQ+ International Film Festival (Silver Image Award). Their video art piece “pari/no/pari”, (2020) made during the pandemic of COVID-19, was shown at the online exhibition aquí estamos / here we are by the Queer Cultural Center in the Bay Area. They are currently working on the documentary “Nació Simón”, which has received support from beta-local’s El Serrucho, North Shorts Grant & Residency 2020, MiradasDOC Market, and most recently, was selected for the Firelight Media Documentary Lab 2021-23. Pati was a Leslie Lohman Museum Artist Fellow (2020-21). They currently work as a freelance Editor and Director in Borikén.
PRODUCER // Samara Pérez Santiago (she/her) is a producer, screenwriter and director currently living and working from Bayamón, Puerto Rico. She is the co-founder and executive producer of Filmes Casa, the only Queer-led indie film production company based in the island. Her passion for films began in her teenage years yet her interest in filmmaking fully developed when she graduated with a B.A in Psychology and a Minor in Film from the University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez Campus. She has worked with various visual mediums such as narrative shorts, feature films, documentary shorts, music videos, television, and web series. Some of her recent projects as producer include the multi award-winning LGBTQ+ short, “Mano santa” (2020), official selection at AFI Fest, NALIP Media Summit, Third Horizon Film Festival & other prestigious festivals; and "Chimenea de muerte" (2021) winner of the Visionaje Fund granted by the Museum of Contemporary Art of Puerto Rico (MAC). Currently, she is producing her first documentary feature "Nació Simón" (grantee of Firelight Media Documentary Lab Program 2021 and Inside Out Re:Focus Fund) and is post-production for her directing comedy debut "La espera".
CO-PRODUCER // Jade Azevedo (she/her) is a filmmaker and journalist. She has studied Cinema and New Media at the International School of Film and TV (EICTV) in Cuba. Since then she has been working as a Creative Producer in many audiovisual and transmedia projects. She has produced and directed the interactive documentary “Metáfora Viva, 30 años de orden y caos” in Cuba. She has also worked as a Production Assistant in the development of the feature documentary “Mascarados” by Henrique and Marcela Borela, which had its première in the Tirandentes Film Festival in 2020. Living in Curitiba she also produced the short films “Envelhecer na Invilisibilidade” (Futura TV Channel) and “Meia Lua Falciforme” (Jury Award at the Olhar de Cinema International Film Festival), the both directed by Cássio Kelm. She participated in 2019 in the Sesi-PR Projects Development Lab with “Peregrina”, which was exhibited in audiovisuals showcases and festivals like “E os Corpos estão Diante da Tela” (2020) and “(Sobre) Vivências” (2021). In 2021 she premiered her second interactive documentary “Entre Telas e Aflições”. She has been lately collaborating internationally as a Producer in projects directed by Maga Zevallos (Peru) and Pati Cruz (Porto Rico/U.S.).
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER // Raúl Abner Samrah (he/him) is an award-winning producer and educator from Ciales, Puerto Rico. He is also a member of the Association of Documentalists of Puerto Rico (AdocPR), where he has served as Coordinator for the bi-annual LatAm documentary film showcase "Latinoamérica en Nosotrxs". His volume of work focuses on queer representation, uplifting new auteurial voices, and creating socially-engaging content through unconventional production models. Raúl is also co-founder and executive producer of Filmes Casa, an independent queer-latinx production company unique for styling arthouse national cinema. Some of his industry projects include music videos, like Princess Nokia's "Diva", and award-winning short films, like "SAM" (Winner, Audience Award at 2018 Puerto Rico Queer Filmfest). Other recent producing credits include: "Without Prescription" (Winner, Audience Award in the Global Category, 2022 SXSW Film Festival) and "Mara Has Three Jobs in San Juan Puerto Rico" (2023 Tribeca Film Festival, Indeed's Rising Voices Season 3). He is also a 2023 Southern Producers Lab fellow.
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
NACIÓ SIMÓN navigates the blurry lines between who is Simón as a mother and a drag king, living in Puerto Rico. The documentary explores drag culture not only as an entertainment form, but more as an artistic manifestation of freedom, resistance and self-expression.
Simón is shown in their daily life: working, taking care of their kids as a young, queer/non-binary mother, surviving through the COVID-19 pandemic and the colonial, heteronormative landscape of the island: one filled with prejudices and violence in its predetermined gender roles.
NACIÓ SIMÓN is all about the resistance and survival of the community through Simón, and their quest to continue exploring their different identities--with and without--the presence of their alter-ego and drag king persona in their day-to-day life.
A NOTE FROM THE DIRECTOR
I am a part of the Puerto Rican LGBTTQIA+ community. My pronouns are they/them. And I love going to drag shows.
Drag shows are a space we can call ours and where we can celebrate our diversities. During the shows, I admire the performers' creativity to call out and stand up against the current political and social issues that are happening in the island.
Simón was the first drag king I ever saw doing this. I could not contain my emotions when I saw their profound and joyous act. I haven't missed one of Simón's shows since.
When I found out Simón is also a mother of two, I was even more touched by their bravery to be themself, alongside the challenges of motherhood. Simón's unapologetic life has the power of connecting with a lot of people who might see themselves in Simón's struggles and desires.
Subconsciously, documenting Simón has also been about exploring my own identity as a non-binary person and how that identity can manifest in many different ways. My urgency in directing this documentary inevitably stems from my own questions about my gender identity and my aversion to the binary labels that govern society and our lives. It took me almost thirty years for me to feel comfortable expressing my gender identity as a non-binary person. I resented the imposed label of "woman" for a long time, but I didn't feel the label of "man" was correct or appealing to me either.
This documentary seeks to celebrate the identities that resist the violence brought upon by what is supposed to be "normal" in our society, and also represents an intention of being unapologetic about our own work: in all its queerness and resourcefulness as one, big community.
TECHNICAL SPECS
ORIGINAL TITLE | Nació Simón
GENRE | Documentary Feature
COUNTRY | Puerto Rico
CO-PRODUCTION | Brasil
PRODUCTION COMPANY | Filmes Casa
LANGUAGE | Spanish
SUBTITLES | Spanish, English and Portuguese
DIGITAL FORMAT | 4K
AUDIO | Stereo 5.1
RUNTIME | 70 minutes
WHAT WE'VE DONE SO FAR
NACIÓ SIMÓN has finished filming and is currently in post-production!
We are close to finishing our final cut with our editor Keily J. Estrada (BR). We are also working on the music licensing with our partners and associate producers Oasis Music Network and the legal team The SIFRE Group. We have also confirmed our sound designer (Brazil), and secured a partnership for potential distribution with Preciosa Media, Colombia.
Recently, NACIÓ SIMÓN has participated in the Philadelphia Latino Film Festival Work-in-Progress Lab and the Docs in Progress Lab by Docs MX where we were awarded a prize in post production services. In November 2021 we participated in the film market FICCALI (Salón de Productores y Proyectos Cinematográficos en Colombia) in Cali, Colombia, where we received a total of eight (8) awards in services, amongst them post production, distribution and publicity services as well as a partnership with Retina Tr3s. The documentary has also been welcomed in spaces such as Miradas Doc, (International Documentary Film Festival and Market of Tenerife) where it won the Development and Distribution Award offered by Tree Line, and the isLAB Workshop (Film Development Lab in Puerto Rico).
Currently, NACIÓ SIMÓN is part of the Firelight Media Documentary Lab Program 2021-23; an 18-month fellowship program that ensures mentoring until our premiere.
Our goal is finish the film and premiere nationally on Pride Month next year! Simultaneously, we want to have a film festival circuit with festivals that are focused on documentary storytelling, Latinx perspectives and LGBTTQIA+ narratives.
With a painted on mustache, a bomb jacket on, and some salsa and reggaetón music playing in the background, wherever we've gone, Simón has managed to captivate national and international audiences! These experiences have been key to demonstrating that our documentary carries has a unique but universal story.
WHAT DO WE NEED?
Well, Simón is a show-stopping performer and it's all about the MUSIC!
Each song is an integral part of the documentary's narrative. Lis/Simón story is weaved through drag performances and lip-syncs, making all the songs core elements of the film.
As a drag king and a non-binary person, Simón uses salsa, merengue and reggaetón songs as a medium to challenge the status quo. Every show is a revolutionary, empowering and transformative act of self-acceptance. We not only get to see the powerful drag shows and the community behind them, but also how music itself becomes an instrument for political and personal conviction. Moreover, NACIÓ SIMÓN has a musical journey that is authentic in representing Puerto Rico's urban musical culture from a uniquely queer point-of-view.
The funds would allow us to finish our post-production process, as well as help us with our music licensing fees. To achieve our crowdfunding goal would lead us to the next milestone for the documentary.
HOW TO HELP!
If you’d like to support this project, but you aren’t in a place to contribute monetarily, no worries! Here are some other ways you can help us out:
- Follow us on Social Media @naciosimon for updates at every step of the way. Share the following on your social media: “Help filmmaker @pecacruz by supporting the @naciosimon on @seedandspark! Join them here: https://seedandspark.com/fund/nacio-simon"
- Follow us on Seed&Spark! (It’s free!) Seed&Spark rewards us for building our audience. Once we hit 250 “followers,” regardless of how many people pledge, we'll start unlocking creator discounts, products, services, and festival fee waivers for this and future projects, courtesy of Seed & Spark!
- Share this page far and wide!
Have suggestions, ideas, or other services? Reach out and say hello!
Email our Producer, Sama Pérez Santiago ([email protected])
Now, go and make it rain! Thank you for the support!
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Sound Mix
Costs $4,500
With this money we will be able to do the final post-sound for the documentary!
Salsa Songs
Costs $3,500
Help us get the music licenses for popular salsa songs from Puerto Rico!
Reggaeton Songs
Costs $3,500
Let's put some perreo in this documentary!
Merengue Songs
Costs $3,500
Help us get more national merengue in Nació Simón!
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
DIRECTOR // Pati Cruz (they/them), born cuir (queer) and brought up catholic in the colonized archipelago of Borikén (Puerto Rico). The catholic slowly disappeared, the cuir stuck around. Obtained a Bachelor of Arts with a major in Film Studies at Vassar College, in Poughkeepsie, New York (2012), and studied Film Directing at the International School of Film and TV in San Antonio de los Baños, Cuba (2015-2018). In 2019, they co-wrote and directed the short film “La amante” (“The Mistress”) which has been selected at international film festivals, such as Raindance Film Festival, trinidad+tobago film festival, Philadelphia Latino Film Festival (LOLA award), and Reeling: The Chicago LGBTQ+ International Film Festival (Silver Image Award). Their video art piece “pari/no/pari”, (2020) made during the pandemic of COVID-19, was shown at the online exhibition aquí estamos / here we are by the Queer Cultural Center in the Bay Area. They are currently working on the documentary “Nació Simón”, which has received support from beta-local’s El Serrucho, North Shorts Grant & Residency 2020, MiradasDOC Market, and most recently, was selected for the Firelight Media Documentary Lab 2021-23. Pati was a Leslie Lohman Museum Artist Fellow (2020-21). They currently work as a freelance Editor and Director in Borikén.
PRODUCER // Samara Pérez Santiago (she/her) is a producer, screenwriter and director currently living and working from Bayamón, Puerto Rico. She is the co-founder and executive producer of Filmes Casa, the only Queer-led indie film production company based in the island. Her passion for films began in her teenage years yet her interest in filmmaking fully developed when she graduated with a B.A in Psychology and a Minor in Film from the University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez Campus. She has worked with various visual mediums such as narrative shorts, feature films, documentary shorts, music videos, television, and web series. Some of her recent projects as producer include the multi award-winning LGBTQ+ short, “Mano santa” (2020), official selection at AFI Fest, NALIP Media Summit, Third Horizon Film Festival & other prestigious festivals; and "Chimenea de muerte" (2021) winner of the Visionaje Fund granted by the Museum of Contemporary Art of Puerto Rico (MAC). Currently, she is producing her first documentary feature "Nació Simón" (grantee of Firelight Media Documentary Lab Program 2021 and Inside Out Re:Focus Fund) and is post-production for her directing comedy debut "La espera".
CO-PRODUCER // Jade Azevedo (she/her) is a filmmaker and journalist. She has studied Cinema and New Media at the International School of Film and TV (EICTV) in Cuba. Since then she has been working as a Creative Producer in many audiovisual and transmedia projects. She has produced and directed the interactive documentary “Metáfora Viva, 30 años de orden y caos” in Cuba. She has also worked as a Production Assistant in the development of the feature documentary “Mascarados” by Henrique and Marcela Borela, which had its première in the Tirandentes Film Festival in 2020. Living in Curitiba she also produced the short films “Envelhecer na Invilisibilidade” (Futura TV Channel) and “Meia Lua Falciforme” (Jury Award at the Olhar de Cinema International Film Festival), the both directed by Cássio Kelm. She participated in 2019 in the Sesi-PR Projects Development Lab with “Peregrina”, which was exhibited in audiovisuals showcases and festivals like “E os Corpos estão Diante da Tela” (2020) and “(Sobre) Vivências” (2021). In 2021 she premiered her second interactive documentary “Entre Telas e Aflições”. She has been lately collaborating internationally as a Producer in projects directed by Maga Zevallos (Peru) and Pati Cruz (Porto Rico/U.S.).
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER // Raúl Abner Samrah (he/him) is an award-winning producer and educator from Ciales, Puerto Rico. He is also a member of the Association of Documentalists of Puerto Rico (AdocPR), where he has served as Coordinator for the bi-annual LatAm documentary film showcase "Latinoamérica en Nosotrxs". His volume of work focuses on queer representation, uplifting new auteurial voices, and creating socially-engaging content through unconventional production models. Raúl is also co-founder and executive producer of Filmes Casa, an independent queer-latinx production company unique for styling arthouse national cinema. Some of his industry projects include music videos, like Princess Nokia's "Diva", and award-winning short films, like "SAM" (Winner, Audience Award at 2018 Puerto Rico Queer Filmfest). Other recent producing credits include: "Without Prescription" (Winner, Audience Award in the Global Category, 2022 SXSW Film Festival) and "Mara Has Three Jobs in San Juan Puerto Rico" (2023 Tribeca Film Festival, Indeed's Rising Voices Season 3). He is also a 2023 Southern Producers Lab fellow.