Regina Simons

bio

Regina Simons is an award-winning Native American filmmaker based in Salt Lake City, dedicated to creating impactful stories that champion strong, complex protagonists. Her work focuses on authentically [re]presenting Native people in film through narrative, documentary, and experimental storytelling.

Regina holds an MFA in Film & Media Arts at the University of Utah, where she refined her craft and deepened her commitment to using film as a tool for truth-telling, cultural preservation, and generational healing.

Growing up in a performing family, she gravitated toward the arts early on and eventually discovered her true calling behind the camera, where she finds joy in writing, directing, and editing.

Her academic journey and intellectual curiosity fuel her unique perspective, blending her cultural heritage with innovative storytelling. For Regina, creativity is a lifelong pursuit, and as she often says, “As long as you are breathing, school is in session.”

ARTIST STATEMENT

Mary Brown Hair, circa 1905. Fort Belknap, Montana

“Filmmakers have the power to heal the past by telling their stories.” Haile Gerima

Stories hold transformative power. The diverse experiences of our collective journeys deserve to be seen, heard, and understood. My filmmaking is rooted in the mission to write, produce, and direct films that amplify voices often overlooked. Shedding light on narratives that challenge, inspire, and heal.

As an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, Diné on my mother’s side and, Nakoda, Dakota on my father’s side, my cultural identity is woven into the fabric of the stories I tell. Growing up as a performer from age five, I witnessed firsthand the persistent absence of authentic Indigenous representation in film. The lack of roles that reflected our richness and complexity compelled me to step behind the camera, where I continue refining my craft.

Too often, Indigenous stories have been told through a non-Native lens. This outsider perspective has shaped narratives that are incomplete at best and harmful at worst. I aim to disrupt this pattern by centering Native voices and lived experiences. Reclaiming our stories on our own terms.

I see filmmaking as a bridge between worlds, past and present, memory and myth, identity and performance. Through my work, I hope to offer stories that empower the present and light a path toward a more inclusive future. Stories heal, especially the ones we dare to tell.