We are raising funds to launch Phase 1 of The Lioness, a feature documentary about Paula Jules Fils-Aime — a Haitian nurse, mother of five, entrepreneur, woman of faith, and community matriarch whose journey from Haiti to Brooklyn to Miami changed the future of her family and touched countless lives.
Learn more about the film, the story, and our production plans at:
Paula's Story
Paula was born in Haiti on August 22, 1940. Her life carried her from Haiti to Brooklyn and eventually to Miami, where she rebuilt her life after hardship and raised five children with faith, discipline, humor, sacrifice, and relentless determination. She worked in nursing, opened businesses, served her community, and became the kind of woman people remembered long after they left her store.
Her store was not just a business. It became a community lifeline. People came for goods, but many also came for credit, advice, prayer, food, conversation, comfort, and care. Some came with money. Some came with none. Paula still found a way to help.
But The Lioness will not flatten Paula into a perfect myth. She was loving, blunt, demanding, generous, faithful, funny, stubborn, direct, and fierce. She could comfort you, correct you, feed you, challenge you, pray for you, and make you laugh — sometimes all in the same conversation. That complexity is what makes her story worth telling.
About the Film
This film is being created by her family, but it is not only a family film. It is a story about motherhood, immigration, faith, survival, entrepreneurship, sacrifice, community, and legacy. It is about what one woman carried, what she overcame, what she gave away, and how her children, grandchildren, and community continue to live with the strength she built into them.
We are beginning with Phase 1: the project kickoff. Funds raised here will support legal and administrative setup, story development, family interviews, Florida-based filming, camera and sound crew, travel, archival organization, early editing preparation, and production planning.
Our Phase 1 minimum is $40,000. Our ideal Phase 1 goal is $55,000. Reaching the full goal allows us to launch production properly, capture the core interviews with professional care, organize the story materials, and build a strong foundation for the next production phase.
Every contribution helps us move forward. If we raise less than the full Phase 1 goal, the funds will still go directly toward the parts of Phase 1 we can responsibly complete.
We are making this documentary because memories fade, stories disappear, and too many women like Paula are remembered only inside their families when their lives speak to something much larger. Paula was not famous. She was not rich. But she changed everything for the people who depended on her.
Thank you for helping us honor Paula’s life, preserve her story, and bring The Lioness to the screen.
We have already used personal funds to begin planning and early pre-production work, including the creation of an initial teaser trailer. This early teaser is meant to introduce the spirit, tone, and direction of the film. As production advances, we will share updates, new interviews, and more developed production-level teasers.
Watch the teaser here:
[INSERT YOUTUBE LINK]
How Donations Will Be Used
• Legal and administrative setup for the documentary
• Story development and script/treatment refinement
• Family interviews and production planning
• Camera and sound crew for Florida-based filming
• Travel related to interviews and production
• Archival organization and review of family materials
• Early editing and sound preparation
• AI-assisted visual development for historical moments where no footage exists
• Project management and production coordination
• Contingency for unavoidable production costs
This fundraiser supports Phase 1 only. Later phases will focus on expanded production, editing, sound, final master, marketing, film festival readiness, and launch.
Project Phase Roadmap
Our production plan is divided into three fundraising phases:
Phase 1 — Project Kickoff: $40,000–$55,000
Interviews, camera and sound crew, travel, legal/admin setup, story development, archival organization, and production planning.
Phase 2 — Production & Editorial Build: $35,000–$50,000
Follow-up interviews, additional filming, video editing, sound editing, archival development, and story refinement.
Phase 3 — Final Master & Launch Readiness: $25,000–$40,000
Final master, final sound, marketing, festival submissions, festival travel, launch materials, and distribution-readiness preparation.
This GoFundMe supports Phase 1. We are using a phased approach so supporters can see clear progress and understand exactly what each round makes possible.
Production Team
Maureen Jules-Perez — Producer/Director
Carla Andrews (Jules) — Assistant Producer/Fundraising Lead
Alex Jules — Co-Director/Film Technical Lead
Juan Perez — Creative Director/AI Advisor
Project Accountability
To manage this project responsibly, we formed a dedicated LLC for The Lioness. This allows us to keep production funds separate, track expenses clearly, and use donations in a disciplined way for the documentary’s development and production.
All donors will receive our gratitude and campaign updates as the project progresses. Larger donors may be acknowledged in future project communications or credits, where appropriate and subject to final production decisions.
Organizer
