Help Us Tell Her Story

Every contribution brings Mama Jules’ story closer to the screen, and helps preserve a legacy that inspires all humanity.

Donate Today

thelionessfilm.com   |   [email protected]

Meet Mama Jules

Before the film, before the title, before anyone called her the Lioness, she was simply Mom. Mama Jules. The woman at the center of the home, the one everyone leaned on, the one who held it all together without ever asking for credit.

Paula Fils-Aime Jules was born on August 22, 1940. Her story began in Haiti, in a world that asked her to be strong before she was ever old enough to choose it. And she was. Quietly, steadily, for the rest of her life.

The woman behind the name

People who met Paula later in life knew her strength. What they did not always see was everything it was built on. The sacrifices made without complaint. The long days. The faith she held onto when there was little else to hold. She carried her family the way a lioness carries her own, fiercely and without hesitation, and she made it look effortless even when it was not.

She led with compassion more than with words. She taught by doing. And she gave, again and again, in ways that only became fully clear once we sat down to tell her story and realized how much of who we are came from her.

How she became the Lioness

We did not set out to call her the Lioness. The name found her. As family and friends gathered and the memories came pouring out, the same picture kept forming. A protector. A provider. A woman who faced down whatever came for her family and never backed away from it.

That is who Mama Jules was. And that is why her story has to be told. Not because she was famous, but because she was the kind of woman whose strength quietly shaped everyone around her, the kind of woman so many families are held together by and so few ever stop to honor.

Her legacy lives on

Paula passed on September 7, 2025, but her story does not end there. It continues in her daughter Maureen, in her mother Jaccilia before her, and in every person who carries a piece of what she gave. Three generations, one legacy, one unbroken thread.

This film is our way of making sure the world meets her the way we did. As Mom. As Mama Jules. As the Lioness.

Help Us Tell Her Story

Every contribution brings Mama Jules’ story closer to the screen, and helps preserve a legacy that inspires all humanity.

Donate Today

thelionessfilm.com   |   [email protected]

Three generations, one legacy. Jaccilia, the Foundation. Paula, the Lioness. Maureen, the Legacy.

Three Generations, One Legacy

Some stories begin with a grand plan. Ours began with a birthday.

What started as a celebration of our mother, Paula Fils-Aime Jules, carried across four cities, Miami, Richmond, Brooklyn, and Washington, D.C., quickly grew into something none of us expected. As family and friends gathered, the stories came pouring out. Stories of quiet strength. Of sacrifice that went unseen. Of a woman who carried everything and asked for nothing. By the end, one thing was clear. This story needed to be told, now more than ever.

The women who made us

The Lioness is a documentary about three generations of women, and the legacy that runs through them like a single, unbroken thread.

Jaccilia Fils-Aime is the foundation. Her faith, her wisdom, and her unshakable resolve laid the roots that everything else would grow from.

Paula Fils-Aime Jules is the Lioness. Through hardship and through change, she led with perseverance and compassion, turning adversity into opportunity. Not for recognition, but because that was simply who she was.

Maureen Jules-Perez carries the legacy forward. As a daughter and a storyteller, she is making sure this journey reaches the generations still to come, through film.

Why this story matters

If there is one word at the heart of this film, it is resilience. The ability to endure hardship, adapt through adversity, and come out stronger than before.

The greatest stories are rarely about fame. They are about ordinary people who choose extraordinary courage, every single day. The Lioness is one of those stories. It is a story about one family, and at the same time, it is a story for every family that has been held together by a woman whose strength became everyone else’s foundation.

We have started filming

We are no longer just dreaming about this film. The cameras are rolling. Filming is underway, and every day brings us closer to telling Paula’s story the way it deserves to be told.

Here is a small behind-the-scenes look at the journey so far.

Behind the scenes of The Lioness.

Be part of it

The Lioness is an independent family production. We are telling this story ourselves, with care and with love, and we are inviting you to be part of it. You can give to help fund the production and preserve Paula’s story. You can partner with us if you work in film or media and believe in this kind of storytelling. And you can share the project with someone who should know about it.

Every contribution, and every share, brings this story closer to the screen.

Support The Lioness

Help us preserve a legacy that inspires all humanity, and bring Paula’s story to life.

Donate Today

thelionessfilm.com   |   [email protected]