Meet Soraya Simi | Director, Producer, Writer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Soraya Simi and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Soraya, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I started 805 Film Collective out of a personal desire to find a film community in Santa Barbara after I moved here without knowing anyone. I wanted to stay in the Central Coast (which I preferred immensely to LA), but also felt I needed to justify it with professional opportunities at an early stage in my filmmaking career.

As I continued to meet filmmakers and industry studs who moved to the Central Coast from LA and SF during the pandemic, it became clear that I wasn’t the only one craving the same network locally. It was also clear that there were just missing links between between to find each other, hire each other, use local gear, locations, talent, etc. and generate a circular film economy.

The idea grew as the target audience became more specific and the gaps that needed to be filled clearer.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I work full-time as a self-employed Director, Producer, and Writer. I also started my own business, 805 Film Collective, which is an umbrella organization uniting all filmmakers in the Central Coast of California, and acts as an independent film commission.

When I was 14, I decided I wanted to be a filmmaker. This gave me a good leg-up as I was able to direct my energy into getting into my dream school – USC – for filmmaking. After USC, I dedicated myself to an independent documentary career, prioritizing adventure, travel, and scooping up as many personal stories I could along the way.

My first feature documentary, ROW OF LIFE, follows the harrowing story of Paralympian and Marine Veteran, Angela Madsen and her attempt to be the oldest woman and only paraplegic to row the Pacific Ocean solo. My true crime series, EL GRANDE, focuses on a wrongful conviction, set in my hometown, Tucson. I am also writing a novel about big wave surfing, loosely based on my time living in Nazaré (a 12th-century Portuguese fishing village, known for having the biggest waves on earth).

While these may sound like scattered ideas with no cohesion, I believe it points to a burning curiosity and passion for the world around me, especially the underdog stories, or poking the edges of things other people aren’t paying as much attention to. I live in the periphery because I find it fascinating. I also think garnering so many personal adventures has fueled my creativity and storytelling capacities more than anything else. If you don’t seek out interesting experiences, then what on earth are you going to tell stories about?

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Well Santa Barbara facilitates this and I am happy to say no matter how many friends visit me, I am always happy to take them on the tour.

The morning starts with coffees at Dart Coffee Shop in the harbor. We walk the jetty and enjoy the fishermen’s morning catch – we might even pop into the museum or art gallery. Then we walk downtown on State, or go for a drive to the Mission. I love to hike and there’s endless trails with waterfalls, hot springs, wildflowers, you name it!

Lunch might be burritos or stir fry bowls from Blue Owl. We might fit in a surf or something else outside (though if it’s raining, movies at the Riviera or a trip to Chaucer’s book store is always a treat). Dinner at La Paloma – my favorite restaurant – with a night cap at Riviera Bar.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My mentors have been some of the most significant forces it my life. It began with my photography teacher in high school, Leigh Preuss, who first nurtured my creative spirit and literally witnessed the exact moment the lightbulb went off in my head about what art is, what it could do, and how you could devote yourself to it.

Since, I have accumulated a handful of mentors who served key purposes at certain times in my personal / professional evolution. This includes two of my favorite writers, Susan Casey and Peter Nichols, who were guiding lights for me and instilled a lot of confidence and direction in my ability to become a storyteller. Filmmaker Peter Mortimer who helped me navigate a public tragedy with ROW OF LIFE. Many professors and teachers at my high school and at USC. The list truly goes on.

I would also be remiss to not mention my wonderful, supportive friends and family that I turn to first with any news – good or bad. I feel very lucky to have such a village behind me.

Website: https://sorayasimi.com

Instagram: @soraya.simi

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/soraya-simi-9560b3237/

Other: https://805filmco.com/