Mamá Papaya is an immigrant-led nonprofit organization dedicated to building a world of equity, care, joy, and justice by supporting BIPOC filmmakers to be powerful and resourced in their creative expression through community-building, resources, and a culture of care.

Rooted in Mni Sota Makoce, the unceded lands of the Dakota people and home to Anishinaabe as well as many Indigenous nations, Mamá Papaya branches out alongside their members to cultivate a filmmaking ecosystem grounded in care, interconnectedness, and accountability. Founded by Tahiel Jimenez Medina, Mamá Papaya believes storytelling and community-rooted creative expression are ancestral tools for preservation, healing, and transformation that impact generations far into the future. Whether on a film set, in a workshop, or at a community screening, they strive to create spaces where participants and collaborators feel safe, seen, nourished, and deeply connected to one another and themselves. Medina shares, “My mama’s childhood nickname was Papaya. In ode to her creative spirit, Mamá Papaya hopes to heal the world through empowering artists’ agency and creative expression. Being a working class undocumented immigrant, my mama didn’t always have the resources to express her powerful creative soul. I stubbornly believe that unheard stories like my mother’s can change the world. Through this organization, we will create a world where our communities have access to the skills, tools, funds, and community to feel powerful and connected to their creative expression.”

Jerome Foundation supports Mamá Papaya’s StorySeeds Fellowship and Film Sparks Fellowship programs. StorySeeds is a 3-month fellowship designed to support 5 early career filmmakers to write a short narrative film screenplay, immerse in a collaborative film community, and grow their confidence. Participating filmmakers receive financial support, mentorship by established filmmakers, a lifetime license of Final Draft screenwriting software, learn skills in screenwriting and storytelling, and meet a community of fellow BIPOC filmmakers. FilmSparks is a 6-month program designed for 4 early career QTBIPOC filmmakers to develop, write, direct, and distribute a short narrative or experimental narrative film. Both fellowships culminate with public screenings or script readings which invite the general public to engage with the fellows and vitalize their visibility in their community and industry. In addition to these fellowships, Mamá Papaya is proud to co-present Cinefilmu Film Festival and other film programming throughout the year for the general public.