Film Independent’s Fiscal Sponsorship program opens the door to nonprofit funding for independent filmmakers and media artists. Donate today and help bring The Queen’s Flowers to life.
 

Logline

A magical take on a true story, The Queen’s Flowers is an animated short adventure for kids that follows Emma, a native Hawaiian girl in 1915 Honolulu, as she makes a special gift for the last monarch of Hawai`i, Queen Lili`uokalani.
 

Meet the Filmmakers

Ciara Lacy – Director
Ciara Leina`ala Lacy is an Emmy nominated filmmaker whose Native Hawaiian identity drives the intimacy and authenticity in her work. Her films have shown at Sundance and Berlinale as well as on platforms including Netflix, PBS, ABC, Al Jazeera, and the Criterion Collection. She has also consulted for Ubisoft, Pixar, and Quibi. Notably, she is the inaugural Sundance Institute Merata Mita Fellow and her work has been supported by Sundance, Tribeca, Nia Tero, the Princess Grace Foundation, the Native Arts and Cultures Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, Pacific Islanders in Communications, and Firelight Media. She continues to work on documentary content for broadcast and streaming while expanding her intimate style of filmmaking into the branded content, animation, and narrative spaces.  

Concepcion Saucedo – Producer
Concepcion Saucedo-Trejo is a Mexican-American film producer and proud member of the Producers Guild of America (PGA). She is a multi-hyphenate talent with skills as a union production coordinator, union production accountant, and production supervisor on national and international projects including notable titles such as Snowden, Point Break, and Lost. Her leap into producing came from a natural desire to bring diverse content to big and small screens, and utilizing her expertise of studio primetime workflow and systems to collaborate with talented filmmakers to develop content that creatively celebrate and highlight humanity, diversity and core values while promoting training and supporting new talent to the competitive world of filmmaking. Raised on the border between Mexico and the US, she has an empathy for different cultures, languages and points of view. Her ventures into independent producing have brought to life successful projects like the period, narrative short film Juventud, which premiered at the 2017 San Diego Comic-Con and was an official selection of the 2017 Hawaii International Film Festival as well as managing productions for high profile talents like Carlos Santana’s “She’s Fire” music video. Her first feature-length film as an independent producer, Secondhand Hearts, broadcast on Showtime in 2019.

Terry Leonard – Executive Producer
Terry has produced over 40 feature films in his 20-year career, including the 2023 Oscar nominee for Best Animated Feature Marcell the Shell With Shoes On. His movies have screened or won awards at festivals including Sundance, Tribeca, Berlin, Slamdance, Woodstock, Hamptons, The Los Angeles Film Festival, South by Southwest and countless regional festivals as well as accolades from the Directors Guild of America and the Independent Spirit Awards. Terry is an active member of the Producers Guild of America and the Directors Guild, speaking on panels and mentoring up-and-coming filmmakers. Terry holds a BFA in film from Emerson College and splits his time between New York City and Los Angeles.

Daniel Sousa – Director of Animation
In his work, Oscar-nominated creative Daniel Sousa uses animation and themes commonly found in mythology and fairy tales to examine archetypes of human nature, and the inner struggles between our intellects and our unconscious drives. Rather than following conventional narratives, he approaches filmmaking from a painter’s perspective. He focuses on states of mind, evoking the fragility of fleeting moments, memories and perceptions. In 2008 he was the recipient of a production grant from the Creative Capital Foundation for the film Feral, which went on to win numerous awards at film festivals around the world, and an Academy Awards nomination in 2013. In addition to his independent projects, Sousa has worked as a director and animator with Cartoon Network, Olive Jar Studios, Global Mechanic, and Duck. He is a founding member of Handcrankedfilm, a film makers’ collective, along with Jeff Sias, Bryan Papciak, and Jake Mahaffy. Sousa has taught at several colleges in the New England area, including RISD, Harvard University, The Museum School, and The Art Institute of Boston, as well as at the Animation Workshop in Denmark.

Jonathan Zalben – Composer/Music Supervisor
Jonathan Zalben creates compelling soundtracks for picture drawing on his decades-long experience in music, film, television, and media art. He studied violin and music composition at Juilliard Pre-College and then went on to study at Yale and NYU. Zalben’s media art has been viewed at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, MASS MoCa, Boston Public Library, Sony Wonder Technology Lab in New York City, and art galleries around the world. He won an award for his media art collaboration, Compound Pilot, at SXSW.

Film/TV credits include the Oscar-nominated film Redemption (HBO) directed by Jon Alpert and Matthew O’Neill, Alone (NY Times Op-Doc) directed by Garrett Bradley, which won the Sundance Jury Award and was shortlisted for an Oscar, There’s Something Wrong With Aunt Diane (HBO) directed by Liz Garbus, On Pointe (Disney+) directed by Larissa Bills, Just Before I Go (Starz) directed by Courteney Cox, and No Way Jose (Sony Pictures) directed by Adam Goldberg.

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Contact

For inquiries, please contact fiscalsponsorship@filmindependent.org.