about

“It’s about loving something, having so much love for something, that all that can be done with the overflow is to create. It is not a matter of wanting to, not a singular act of will; one solely must.”

— Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estés

Soraya Simi is a Director, Producer, and Writer.

Originally from Arizona, she moved to California with a full-ride to USC's prestigious Film & TV Production program, with a minor in Environmental Studies.

Outside of school, Soraya lived on a sailboat to study the impacts of climate change and the legacy of colonialism in the Caribbean. She rode jet skis in the biggest waves in the world in Nazaré, Portugal, fought for the protection of a World Surfing Reserve on an island off the coast of Baja, raised awareness for clean water in Puerto Rico post-hurricane disasters, and drove solo across the American West until she hit a ditch at 85mph, miraculously survived, and hitched a ride with a truck driver across state lines. Soraya produced films and published essays about these experiences.

While in school, Soraya cut her teeth at production companies like Farm League, where she learned how to infuse stylistic, captivating filmmaking in commercial campaigns. After, Soraya and two college friends started their own boutique production company where they produced high-level, big-budget branded content for major corporations, often featuring celebrities or savants. Somehow they managed to never reveal that they were college students, which is a good story for another time.

After graduating, globally renowned Paralympian and Marine Veteran Angela Madsen asked Soraya to make a film about her solo row across the Pacific Ocean in 2020. The two worked closely together to produce the feature documentary, ROW OF LIFE, which gained worldwide attention during the making-of. It is a significant and deeply personal story that exemplifies the complexity of a close character-director relationship, and how the stakes in non-fiction storytelling are not imagined, but very real. It is Co-Produced with Vacationland, TOGETHXR, TIME Studios, and Exec Produced by Sue Bird. With an ambitious world-wide festival run in 2025, the film is seeking distribution.

Concurrently, Soraya is also an EP & Co-Director for a true crime docu-series about a wrongful conviction, set in her hometown, Tucson, Arizona. It is Executive Produced by John Legend, and co-produced with GET LIFTED, SCOUT Productions, and NBC Universal, slated for completion in late 2026 / early 2027.

She has a strong grasp of industry business, and is personally responsible for fundraising almost $1 million for her independent projects via private financing and grants.

Based in Santa Barbara, Soraya also founded and runs a local film organization, 805 Film Collective, which unites over 400+ filmmakers in the Central Coast via monthly events and provides resources for local film production and incentives for increased economic opportunities.

In her free time, Soraya is typically unplugged and outside.

Thoroughly well-traveled, fluent in French, and comfortable working overseas, Soraya is open and available for Directing, Producing, and Writing opportunities domestically or abroad.