Mojana is an associative re-imagining of a Colombian myth and traditional song. A mermaid-monster, who is desired and punished: the man-eating, seductive Mojana. Aggressions against this free and rare spirit are justified by obsessive love and desire. The film denounces the naturalized violence against this mythical female creature and re-appropriates her as a symbol of trans-feminine resilience. Kinematic bodies and animal-human hybrids. An absent body, which returns into representation. A history of dissident bodies who resist dying in a necropolitical system.

‘We are often told that queer people are not that different, but we are. And that’s a good thing. It’s about defending difference,’ says Simon*e Paetau. However, the film makes it clear that celebrating difference is closely linked to fear of violence.
TAZ / A Being Between Worlds / 28.08.2023

Selection of Festivals, Exhibitions & Awards

Rencontres Internationales Paris/Berlin 2022, Nominated for the Moving Image Art Prize 2022
46th Colombian National Salon of Artists – Inaudito Magdalena 2022
Monitoring Kassel Dokfest 2021, Nominated for the Golden Cube Award 2021
FICMA Manizales 2021
Ciclo Rosa – Bogota LGBTQ Film Festival 2021, World Premiere

Credits

Directed, Performed, and Edited by: SIMONE JAIKIRIUMA PAETAU & NADIA GRANADOS | Music & Sound-Design: AÉREA NEGROT | Sound-Mix: RUBEN VALDÉS | Outside Eye & Second Camera: JAO MOON | Grading & Compositing: MARTIN BACKHAUS | Special thanks and Outside Eye: MARIA ELVIRA DIEPPA

With the support of the Goethe-Institut Kolumbien & the Cinemateca de Bogotá – Idartes

Reviews

‘Mojana was created as a dialogue between Nadia and me (…)’ recalls the artist. ‘The piece speaks volumes about violence against this mythical being, Mojana. To me, it’s almost like a transfeminicide—how violence against sexually diverse, attractive individuals, who are a hybrid between monster and human, is culturally normalized. It’s a metaphor for a person with gender dissidence.’
El Espectador / Three Colombian Works in the Berlinische Galerie / 13.09.2023

Nadia Granados and Simon(e) Paetau complement the layered dialogue proposed by ‘Tierra en tránsito’ by recreating the mythological character Mojana, which in this piece deconstructs the violence of the cultural representations surrounding gender that have been imagined by power structures.
El Cronista / Tribute to the Landscape and Life Around the Río Grande de la Magdalena / 04.08.2022

Diversities, Dissidences, and Pluralities
Cuadernos de Cine Colombiano / 2022

The work shows hybrid bodies and uncomfortable formalities. It speaks of possibilities that overflow the molds and social norms. In the images, a latent, contained violence is suggested, awakening the fragility of a body that is displayed without shame: punishment for provoking desire.
Cero en Conducta, Cinema Magazine / Mojana / 17.09.2021

The artists premiered a video installation at the Cinemateca de Bogotá as part of the Ciclo Rosa 2021 festival program.
Shock / Simon(e) J. Paetau and Nadia Granados: Captivated by Mojana / 07.09.2021

Until September 19, there will be a tribute to the stories that have made the LGBTI community visible over the last two decades.
Infobae / The Ciclo Rosa at the Cinemateca de Bogotá Celebrates its 20th Anniversary with a Special Program / 05.09.2021

The importance of this space transcends borders by fostering the representation of sexual and gender dissidence on the big screen.
Radio Nacional / Ciclo Rosa at the Bogotá Cinemateca Celebrates Its 20 Years / 02.09.2021

From September 3 to 19, the Cinemateca de Bogotá will host a festival that celebrates diversity.
Radiónica / Ciclo Rosa Celebrates Its 20th Anniversary with Films, Talks, and a Video Installation / 02.09.2021

Specially, Sala E (Expanded Cinema Room of the Cinemateca de Bogotá) will feature ‘Mojana,’ by artists Nadia Granados and Simon(e) Jaikiriuma Paetau, a three-screen video installation produced from the creators’ eponymous short film. (…) This exhibition will run from September 4 to 26, and during this period, there will be a schedule of guided tours.
Canal Trece / This Will Be The Celebration Of The Twentieth Anniversary Of Ciclo Rosa / 31.08.2021