I watch a lot of documentaries, but I can be a little skeptical when a documentary filmmaker is an actor as if that person recognizes that they cannot get their big break through their work as an actor, so they make a participatory documentary to get attention that way. I’m looking at you, Meet the Patels. Yaniv Rokah, an Israeli American actor, directed Queen Mimi, and a cynical person could suggest that befriending the titular person provides him a networking opportunity to hob knob with people in the business and siphon some of the goodwill that she garnered in the affluent community, but after watching the sensitive and insightful film, that suspicion will evaporate.

Queen Mimi is about Marie Elizabeth Haist, a Montana Avenue fixture at the now closed Fox Laundry in Santa Monica, California. Rokah, an actor with a day job as a barista, decided to get to know her and make a documentary about her since she is a fixture in the community. He spent five years befriending her and making the documentary. Like others in the community, she became a way to feel at home in the community. The title refers to her nickname in the community just like a guy would be lovingly called the mayor of any place that he frequents and becomes a friendly regular regardless of his actual station in the community. People who like to ridicule California as shallow, young, superficial, wealthy and completely removed from the concerns of daily average people would do themselves a favor to watch this documentary.

Queen Mimi’s first third shows how the community lovingly talks about her, foibles and all, then takes an interest in her. Individually people detail the risks and personal sacrifices they made to take care of her. Through the interviews, the viewer learns that the community is not as affluent, young or superficial as one would guess as an outsider looking in. Even people in the movie business need money and roommates. They want to care for her, but none of their individual efforts can quite provide a stable safety net to take her off the streets and still meet their own financial needs. Cue Zach Galifianakis and Renee Zellweger, who is never interviewed for this documentary, to the rescue.

Rokah shows his perspicacity and a humane curiosity as he digs deeper in a respectful manner into Haist’s life before Montana Avenue without violating her boundaries. Based on the neighborhood’s testimonials about Haist, she can be prickly and difficult so Rokah’s interview skills and manner must be perfect to not alienate her or make her stop cooperating. I love intergenerational relationships, and Rokah is clearly interested in her complete history, not just as a human interest story with a little local color, but as a person. He gets her to open up about how she ended up homeless. Queen Mimi becomes a documentary not just about an individual, but uses her story as a humanizing example of how anyone can live a normal life then discover oneself in a financially precarious and dangerous situation. No one leaves home with the goal to one day live on the streets. Her story is a happy and uplifting one, but Rokah does not shy away from asking her about the dangers of being homeless.

Queen Mimi compares and contrasts how she sees herself versus her reality. While she is objectively homeless, she does not think of herself as homeless and has very harsh, insensitive opinions about other homeless people because of her negative experiences in the community. There is a pride to distinguish herself from the others. She enjoys being the saucy, older lady, but when she talks, she discusses shunning people for legitimate fear of sexual exploitation. If it was not for this community’s heart, she could easily die or become a victim to life on the streets. The community saves her not because she is a good person—she can be quite high-handed and rude to people, but because of what she makes them feel as a result of her age. It is one of the few times that age works in someone’s favor. She reminds them of their mother, grandmother. Her gender also probably makes her less of a viable threat. They tolerate her biases, her delusions and her particularity and decide that she is still worthy of help. They respond to her need and her best self, not to her worst self or give help with strings attached.

Just when Queen Mimi is getting closer to the end, Rokah is stunned that there is more to Haist’s earlier life than she revealed. I was not surprised at the big reveal. I noticed that older people in documentaries will suddenly act their age and plead forgetfulness if a person delves into a direction that she does not want explored. It adds texture to the story of what led her to Montana Avenue and her present personality quirks. Haist’s life becomes emblematic of women’s history that gets lost in the history books. It is a life of expectation with a chasm of the reality. I do not want to give anything away, but like most women, she kept up her side of the bargain in gender norm expectations then was not rewarded for adhering to patriarchal demands, which resulted in financial and social ruin. Even though we do not have details, it seems that Haist course corrected in the other extreme by abandoning all the roles that did not serve her. Rokah and her community do not judge her for her life decisions, but once again, they meet her where she is and allow her to take the lead on how she wants to address this point in her life. Will she explore it or just leave it in the past?

Queen Mimi suggests that not just young people run away from home. Rokah is transparent in his process of how he tries to make the film, gets people’s permission to participate and adjusts his filmmaking to their comfort level. For a first time filmmaker to show the ethics of how he approached his subject, who is also someone that he actually cares about, in contrast to how other more seasoned professionals inadvertently trample over people to get to a story and achieve a goal, this documentary is a superb example of never losing sight of what is important. Yes, he wants to make a film, but people are more important. Definitely stay for the closing credits when we get to see the debut showing in that community and Rokah and Haist getting applause, not necessarily for the film, but for surviving well and making lasting connection that exists beyond this film. Many of the audience members were instantly recognizable as people who gave interviews.

I would highly recommend that you see Queen Mimi, which is available for renting on Amazon for $1.99. While it provides a much needed window into the life of one homeless person, reminds us that people should not be invisible or in need and everyone has an interesting story, it also shows that even with the love and support of an entire community, without the help of two affluent people, they barely could help one person successfully get off the street. There needs to be a more systematic solution than individual charity.