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Introduction

SIMA Studios’ equity goal is to move, enlighten and transform our world through celebrating, curating and distributing documentaries and creative media projects that amplify the stories of marginalized communities, challenge oppressive mindsets and systems, and inspire audiences to such heights that change is catalyzed to follow, with the ultimate goal for equality to be universally experienced. Since our inception, we have aimed at setting new industry standards that raise the bar of quality, equity and diversity. This pursuit of catalyzing justice through documentary storytelling benefits everyone by taking a critical eye to systems of oppression – systems that undercut fairness across multiple demographics, conditions, and experiences. By prioritizing attention to racial equity, we believe everyone will benefit because racial injustice is one of the most pervasive and entrenched forms of injustice permeating the institutions and systems that everyone must access.

SIMA Studios Racial Equity Statement

As an internationally recognized social justice film awards program and distributor, SIMA Studios is committed to racial equity both internally through our company culture and policies, and externally through our programming: the films and filmmakers we award, celebrate and champion; and the prioritized communities we sponsor with free access to our educational content and programming.

  • We are committed to ensuring that every policy and program enacted reflects democratic principles of equity and justice.
  • We understand that enacting policy and programming in a just and equitable manner considers critical issues of implicit bias and discrimination that require concerted and purposeful action.
  • We believe that bringing together our board, staff and other partners with differing backgrounds and life experiences will enhance our ability to increase opportunities for all filmmakers, programs, and partnerships to succeed.
  • Policies, programs, and activities will be administered to identify and avoid discrimination and barriers to access, and to avoid disproportionately high and adverse effects on communities of color.
  • Accountability to our filmmakers and fiscally represented projects is of central importance to us. We understand the significance of evaluating the impact of our policymaking and programming on filmmakers and fiscally represented projects over time and utilizing this evaluation in the development of new initiatives. We are committed to the just and equitable disbursement of awards, accolades, and services.
  • We obtain the following information when relevant and appropriate in order to utilize data to evaluate the impact of our equity goals and inclusion: film, filmmaker and fiscally represented project demographics including but not limited to: race, color, national origin, gender identification and age, this will and has always included a special look into: diverse communities across the world such as communities of color, racially and ethnically diverse individuals, tribal communities, immigrant and refugee communities, and communities that have principal languages other than English.

Building a race equity culture requires intention and effort. We fully integrate race equity into every aspect of our operations and programs and work toward the dismantling of structural racism wherever we encounter it.