Pati Cruz Martínez

Born cuir (queer) and brought up catholic in the colonized archipelago of Borikén (Puerto Rico). The catholic slowly disappeared, the cuir stuck around. From their Caribbean trans body, Pati Cruz Martínez searches for poetry in the mundane through the camera and the pen. Their sensitivity and curiosity drives their work with different mediums inside the filmmaking practice: writing, storytelling, video, and editing. The camera has been both a shield and a lens through which Pati engages with the world, navigating its violence toward marginalized bodies as well as its resistance through perseverance and joy. Pati Cruz Martínez studied Film Directing at the International School of Film and TV in Cuba (2015-2018). They obtained a Bachelor of Arts at Vassar College, New York (2012). Their work has been shown at international film festivals, such as Raindance Film Festival, Philadelphia Latino Film Festival (LOLA award 2020), trinidad+tobago film festival, Outfest Los Angeles LGBTQ+, Third Horizon Film Festival, and Reeling: The Chicago LGBTQ+ International Film Festival (Silver Image Award). Their work has also been part of exhibitions at Museum of Modern Arts (MoMA), Puerto Rico Museum of Contemporary Art, the Queer Cultural Center in the Bay Area. A Leslie Lohman Museum Artist Fellow (2020-21), Flaherty Seminar Fellow (2023), and EmergeNYC Fellow (2022-23). Their latest short documentary “Casa Laurel” is currently streaming at PBS. In 2020 they co-founded the queer boricua filmmakers collective, Colectivx Colectivx. Pati is currently working on their first feature-length documentary “Nació Simón”, which was part of Firelight Media’s Documentary Lab 2021-23.

ABOUT Nació Simón

"Nació Simón" seeks to get to know Lis and their drag persona, Simón. It explores the drag show not only as entertainment, but also as an artistic manifestation of the performer. Lis is shown in their daily life: working, taking care of her kids as a young/queer/non-binary mother, surviving the colonial landscape of the island, and how their identity faces or opposes the heteronormative society (one filled with prejudices and violence in its gender roles). The documentary explores the blurry lines between who is Lis and who is Simón – their differences and meeting points – delving into the birth or construction of Simón. The process is shown via scenes formed in a verité style, and casual conversations between Lis/Simón and the filmmakers.

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