Sion Papi – Anne Fernandez
Content Warning: Grief and parental loss.
Sion Papi is an animated documentary that follows the story of Anne Fernandez who, after the death of her father, embarks on a two-month journey to return his ashes to his homeland— a place she hasn’t set foot in for sixteen years. Once Anne arrives in the Dominican Republic, the beauty of her family’s homeland was undeniable and so she found herself asking: Why did my father leave the country he loved so much?
Anne began to question who her father was before immigrating to the States and how different that version of him must have been from the one she had always known.Who was my father as a young man growing up here? What was his life like before he became a parent?
These questions gave rise to the making of Sion Papi.
Anne turned to loved ones who had known her father across different chapters of his life in search for answers. From this, Sion Papi beautifully unfolds as a personal essay in stop motion form— an intimate meditation on intergenerational storytelling, reconnection, and healing. We invite you to join Anne Fernandez in contemplating the ties between identity, grief, and home.
Opening Reception: May 9, 2025 at 5pm
On View: May 9, 2025 – June 21, 2025 (EXTENDED through August 15, 2025)
Visiting Hours: Wednesday-Friday 12pm-4pm and Saturday 10am-4pm
Museum Admission: $3 (FREE for Uptown residents!)
Location: Dyckman Farmhouse Museum (on the corner of 204th and Broadway)
English: Download the exhibition guide!
Born and raised in New York City, Anne Fernandez is a Dominican filmmaker and multimedia artist. Fernandez started her film education at the High School of Art and Design in NYC and later received her Bachelors of Fine Arts in Film with a Minor in Spanish from Syracuse University. Her work has screened at various venues across the nation, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, WMHT from PBS, the Houston Latino Film Festival, the Bushwick Film Festival, etc.
She is an alumnus of the Made in New York Post-Production Training Program, where she mastered industry-standard post-production software like AVID, Adobe Premiere Pro/Photoshop/After Effects, DaVinci Resolve, and more.
She has edited content and worked with companies like Amazon, Tribeca Film Institute, Astoria Film Festival, and the New York Latino Film Festival, just to name a few.
Her latest film, Sion Papi, won “Best Animation” at the 21 Islands International Film Fest, “Best Documentary” at the Bowery Film Festival, and “Best Youth Doc” at the Astoria Film Festival. As a young up-and-coming artist, Anne aspires to one day write her own TV show to showcase authentic storytelling about the Dominican community.
Born and raised in New York City, Anne Fernandez is a Dominican filmmaker and multimedia artist. Fernandez started her film education at the High School of Art and Design in NYC and later received her Bachelors of Fine Arts in Film with a Minor in Spanish from Syracuse University. Her work has screened at various venues across the nation, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, WMHT from PBS, the Houston Latino Film Festival, the Bushwick Film Festival, etc.
She is an alumnus of the Made in New York Post-Production Training Program, where she mastered industry-standard post-production software like AVID, Adobe Premiere Pro/Photoshop/After Effects, DaVinci Resolve, and more.
She has edited content and worked with companies like Amazon, Tribeca Film Institute, Astoria Film Festival, and the New York Latino Film Festival, just to name a few.
Her latest film, Sion Papi, won “Best Animation” at the 21 Islands International Film Fest, “Best Documentary” at the Bowery Film Festival, and “Best Youth Doc” at the Astoria Film Festival. As a young up-and-coming artist, Anne aspires to one day write her own TV show to showcase authentic storytelling about the Dominican community.
This exhibition is supported, in part, by, the Honorable Carmen De La Rosa, New York City Council, District 10.
Estamos orgullosos de anunciar que la ganadora de la convocatoria abierta 2025 del Museo de la Granja Dyckman sobre la experiencia, la historia y la cultura de los inmigrantes es Anne Fernandez, cineasta dominicana-estadounidense y artista multimedia del Uptown, por su animación stop motion Sion Papi.
Advertencia sobre el contenido: pérdida de un ser querido.
Sion Papi es un documental animado que narra la historia de Anne Fernández, quien, tras la muerte de su padre, se embarca en un viaje de dos meses para devolver sus cenizas a su tierra natal, un lugar en el que no ha puesto un pie en dieciséis años. Cuando Anne llega a la República Dominicana, la belleza de la tierra de origen de su familia es innegable, por lo que se encuentra preguntándose: ¿por qué mi padre abandonó el país que tanto amaba?
Anne comenzó a preguntarse quién era su padre antes de emigrar a Estados Unidos y cómo debía de ser esa versión de él, tan diferente de la que ella siempre había conocido. ¿Quién era mi padre cuando era joven y crecía aquí? ¿Cómo era su vida antes de ser padre?
Estas preguntas dieron lugar a la creación de Sion Papi.
Anne buscó respuestas en sus seres queridos, que habían conocido a su padre en diferentes etapas de su vida. A partir de ahí, Sion Papi se desarrolla maravillosamente como un ensayo personal en forma de stop motion, una reflexión íntima sobre la narración intergeneracional, la reconexión y la sanación. Te invitamos a unirte a Anne Fernández en la contemplación de los vínculos entre la identidad, el duelo y el hogar.
Recepción inaugural: 9 de mayo de 2025 a las 5pm
Abierto al público: 9 de mayo de 2025 al 21 de junio de 2025 (EXTENDIDO hasta el 15 de agosto de 2025)
Horario de visita: miércoles a viernes de 12pm a 4pm y sábados, de 10am a 4pm
Entrada al museo: $3 (¡GRATIS para los residentes del Alto Manhattan!)
Ubicación: Museo de la Granja Dyckman (en la esquina de la calle 204 y Broadway)
