The acclaimed Peruvian documentary Runa Simi, the feature directorial debut of Augusto Zegarra and executive produced by Dominique Bravo, Ellen Schneider, Benjamin and Peter Bratt, Alpita Patel, and Bill & Ruth Ann Harnisch, will open theatrically with an exclusive one-week engagement at Firehouse: DCTV's Cinema for Documentary Film in New York City from Friday, August 28 through Thursday, September 3, 2026.
Following an award-winning festival run that earned numerous accolades–including the Albert Maysles Award for Best Documentary Director at the Tribeca Festival, the Youth Jury Award at Sheffield DocFest, and the Ibero-American Award at the Palm Springs International Film Festival–, the release will feature post-screening Q&As with the filmmaker and the protagonist.
The film follows Fernando Valencia, a 29-year-old voice artist from Cusco in the Peruvian Andes—an Indigenous activist, painter, and devoted single father to his spirited eight-year-old son, Dylan. Known for his uncanny ability to voice multiple characters, Fernando launched Quechua Clips, a viral project that reimagines iconic animated scenes in Quechua, the ancestral language of the Incas, also known as Runa Simi. The response was overwhelming, revealing a vast audience of Quechua speakers eager to experience beloved stories in their own language.
Fueled by this groundswell of support, Fernando sets his sights on an ambitious and quixotic dream—to dub Disney’s 1994 classic The Lion King into Quechua, with the help of his energetic son. Armed with a homemade studio and relentless resolve, Fernando navigates countless ups and downs, facing rejection, setbacks, and self-doubt. Yet through it all, his determination never wavers, turning a personal mission into a powerful call for language justice and cultural reclamation.
A heartwarming and stirring portrait of resilience, creativity, and cultural pride, Runa Simi underscores the urgency of preserving Indigenous languages and the transformative power of representation. With humor, heart, and unshakable resolve, Zegarra's thought-provoking documentary offers a hopeful vision of a future where every voice matters—and every language has a place.
