Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to I’m That Doll MpMStudios. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
I’m That Doll , appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.
The most meaningful project I’ve ever worked on is “I’m That Doll”, our award-winning documentary about Simone Jewel Riviera and the community that has held her through some of the most challenging years of her life. This film is meaningful not only because of Simone’s extraordinary story, but because of the way we have chosen to build the production itself—with care, equity, and community impact at the center of the filmmaking process.
From the outset, we committed to creating a model that supports the people who make the art. Our production incorporates childcare access through partnerships like “Nanny Boss” and family-forward practices inspired by “Reel Families for Change”, ensuring that caregivers, parents, and working artists no longer have to choose between stability and creative contribution. That’s meaningful to me, because it mirrors the film’s core truth: no one succeeds alone.
Our funding structure is equally intentional. We are collaborating with nonprofits such as “LUPE Arte”, artist-support organizations, and values-aligned partners to create a hybrid financing model that merges documentary filmmaking with community investment. Rather than relying on traditional profit-driven systems, we’re forging a new path—one where nonprofits can raise funds alongside the film, and where donations support both the documentary and the people it uplifts. This is more than a film; it is a proof of concept for how Hollywood can evolve.
We believe this approach is part of a new movement—one where filmmakers are compensated fairly, crew members receive the support they need, childcare is integrated into production budgets, and community organizations gain visibility and financial benefit through the storytelling process. This project is not for the greedy; it is a blueprint for how art, equity, and sustainability can thrive together.
That is why “I’m That Doll” is meaningful to me. It’s the most human, most challenging, and most transformative project I’ve ever worked on—and its impact extends far beyond the screen. We are building a story and a system that honors the people who make it, and that’s the kind of filmmaking I want to bring into the future of this industry.
Team Dollmination
Ali D. Hopson – Executive Producer/Director
Simone Jewel Riviera – Story & Associate Producer
Maria Robles Schachter- Associate Producer
Kendra Dobson- Associate Producer /Producer of immersive XR, Narrative Design & events
Vicki Solis – Associate Producer
Lania Keyall – Associate Producer
Kelly Riot – Director of Photography
Antimere Robinson – Art Director
Anuja Pothireddy – Animation
Kathrin Hartmann – Journalist
Alexandra Price – Composer
Kelly Riot – Cinematographer
J Lawrence – Unit Publicist
Sean Ryan – Set Decoration
Transportation Captain – Michael Johnson
Sachiko Fukushigi – Production Coordinator
Evelyn Johnson – Assistant to Simone Jewel Riviera
Ramon Navarro – Community Outreach Coordinator
Vagisha Barot – Data Analyst & Research
Nanny Boss – Childcare
LUPE Arte – Production Company
MpM Studios – Production Company
Talents
Simone Jewel Riviera – Self
Maxine LaQueene – Self
I’m That Doll , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
My name is Ali Hopson, and I serve as Executive Producer and Director of “I’m That Doll”, an impact-driven documentary to be produced by MpM Studios. My path into filmmaking has always been rooted in two things: “care” and “community”. I didn’t enter this field to simply make films—I entered to build “ecosystems” around films, where artists, families, nonprofits, and audiences profit together.
“I’m That Doll” sits at the center of that philosophy. It is more than a documentary; it is a collaborative social-impact project that merges filmmaking, human rights, artist support, childcare equity, and global cultural work. It tells the four-year journey of “Simone Jewel Riviera”, a Black trans woman, Barbie fan, and survivor whose story holds cultural, political, and emotional importance. Our team believes that storytelling only matters if the people who make it—and the communities represented in it—are supported with dignity, structure, and real resources.
Our studio and this project provide three major solutions for an industry that often overlooks the human beings doing the creative labor:
1. We create films, content, and events with an integrated social-good and nonprofit model.
We collaborate with organizations such as:
LUPE Arte / Mujeres Y Arte – supporting diverse artists through grants, visibility, and culturally rooted creative development.
Reel Families for Change – advancing family-sustaining labor standards and policy in the film industry.
Nanny Boss / Childcare Support Systems – ensuring crew and talent with families have access to childcare while on productions.
Most film budgets treat people’s lives as logistical problems. We treat them as “infrastructure”. We build support systems into the production pipeline so more people—especially women, parents, trans creatives, and underrepresented artists—can actually thrive in this industry.
2. We are pioneering a new, ethical funding model for film.
Our documentary uses a “shared-value structure” that blends:
documentary investment
nonprofit partnerships
donor engagement
community-based fundraising
data-sharing collaborations (with tech partners like Crown Tech)
global co-production
This hybrid model allows films to be funded “without exploiting labor” or relying on outdated studio systems. It is designed to prove that ethical filmmaking can still be financially successful—and that artists do not have to trade care for career.
3. We create global creative collaborations that uplift underrepresented voices.
Our work on this project crosses the US, Austria, and UK creative markets, prioritizing asylum stories, trans rights, and cultural representation. Our partnerships with international artists, animators, researchers, and policy organizations will ensure the film reaches communities who need it most.
We are not just a production company—we’re a “movement builder”. The embodiment of Team Dollmination.
We fund art differently.
We hire differently.
We support families differently.
We share profits differently.
And above all, we center “care” as a creative asset, not a burden.
Our documentary team spans data analysts, publicists, animators, composers, researchers, cultural organizers, and filmmakers who all believe that community care and world-class filmmaking can coexist.
We are proud that “I’m That Doll” will be:
an “award-winning project, recognized for its innovation
a global collaboration across multiple countries
a project elevating trans joy, resilience, and artistry
a production model that pays and protects its crew
a fundraising structure that also uplifts nonprofits, not only investors
a first-of-its-kind documentary using an iconic doll as fandom, asylum narratives, activism, and chosen family to create a new cultural language
Most of all, we are proud that in a historically exclusionary industry, we are building a filmmaking blueprint rooted in “care, community, and the power of collaboration”.
Our brand and our work are built on a simple belief:
Films can change culture—but only if they also change the way films are made.
We stand at the intersection of impact storytelling, creative innovation, and social advocacy. Everything we do—from our nonprofit partnerships to our childcare support to our global collaborations—is designed to prove that Hollywood doesn’t need to exploit people to make extraordinary art.
We are building something new.
Something ethical.
Something global.
Something that feeds the community while it feeds the culture.
And “I’m That Doll” is the first of many projects that will carry that mission forward.
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
Society best supports artists and creatives when it recognizes that “artistic labor is human labor”—and that humans thrive when they are cared for, compensated fairly, and given infrastructure to create. Projects like “I’m That Doll” demonstrate that support is not just about funding a film—it’s about building an ecosystem where artists, families, nonprofits, and audiences all benefit.
This means:
1. Funding ethically and inclusively – Support hybrid models that allow creatives to earn a living without exploitation, blending investment, nonprofit partnerships, community fundraising, and shared-value structures.
2. Investing in infrastructure and care – Ensure artists have access to childcare, mental health support, rehearsal and production spaces, and tools that allow them to sustain both career and life.
3. Elevating underrepresented voices – Create visibility and access for historically excluded communities—trans artists, women, parents, and global creatives—through collaborative projects and international partnerships.
4. Integrating social impact – Encourage projects that combine storytelling with community benefit, advocacy, and cultural engagement, proving that art can change culture while also uplifting the people who make it.
At its heart, supporting artists is “about valuing care, community, and collaboration as part of the creative process itself”. When society invests in these systems—not just in the final product—creatives can innovate, audiences are enriched, and the culture itself thrives.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
Yes. My creative journey is guided by a single, overarching mission: “to build filmmaking ecosystems where care, equity, and collaboration are as central as the art itself”. I don’t create just to make films; I create to ensure that artists, families, and communities can thrive alongside the stories being told.
With “I’m That Doll”, that mission comes to life. We center “human dignity, underrepresented voices, and social impact”, blending global collaborations, ethical funding models, and integrated support systems—like childcare access and nonprofit partnerships—so that every creative can contribute fully without sacrificing their wellbeing.
Ultimately, my goal is to “prove that art can change culture only when it changes the way it’s made”, creating a blueprint for an industry where innovation, justice, and care coexist.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt30270592/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1BKiKp9Wod/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ali-d-hopson
- Youtube: https://youtu.be/mG0vSBd65dE?si=6SzF0njmOr4OuBnd
- Other: https://www.mawuphotography.com
Image Credits
MpMStudios
Kelly Riot