Our Mission
Mamá Papaya is an immigrant-led nonprofit organization dedicated to nurturing and
cultivating underserved filmmakers and storytellers moving our futures towards safety, care, equity, justice, and solidarity.
We are rooted in Mni Sota Makoce, the unceeded lands of the Dakota (Minnesota, United States).
Through financial support, community building, and mentorship, our programs support filmmakers and their communities to engage in a transformative and healing experience that fosters deep growth, skill development, and supportive relationships.
Our programs welcome emerging, aspiring, and established filmmakers, helping them to sustain creative practices that serve communities for generations and imagine visionary futures.
Storytelling and creative expression are ancestral tools for cultural preservation, connection, and healing.
“My mama’s childhood nickname was Papaya.
Our organization carries forth my mother’s spirit who shared with me the value to tell our stories for healing and move through the world with passion, care and love. Being a working class undocumented immigrant, she didn’t always have the resources to express her powerful creative soul.
Mamá Papaya dreams of a world where everyone has access to the skills, tools, and community to feel powerful in their voice in a vibrant culture rooted in care and solidarity.”
- Tahiel Jimenez Medina
Founder of Mamá Papaya
