Queen Mimi
Directed byYaniv Rokah
Written byYaniv Rokah
Produced byElliot V Kotek
Michael Pelico
Michael Shamberg
StarringZach Galifianakis
Stan Fox
Marie Haist (Mimi)
CinematographyAndrew Fox
Edited byAlly Garrett
Music byRon Passaro
Distributed byXLrator Media
Release dates
  • March 27, 2015 (2015-03-27) (Vail Film Festival)
  • May 2016 (2016-05)
Running time
76 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Queen Mimi is a 2015 documentary film about the life of Marie Haist, an octogenarian homeless woman who lived in a Santa Monica laundromat for 18 years, directed by Yaniv Rokah and produced by Elliot V Kotek.[1][2][3][4][5]

Release

The film was selected for the Sarasota Film Festival.[6] In May 2016, XLRator Media released the film worldwide.[7]

Cast

Awards and nominations

Year Award Festival Result
2015 Best Documentary Manhattan Film Festival[10] Won
2015 Spirit Award Chagrin Documentary Film Festival[10] Won
2015 Spirit Award Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival[10] Won
2015 Best Director Award St Tropez International Film Festival[7] Won

Soundtrack

Queen Mimi is a 2016 soundtrack album from the documentary containing a song by Grammy Award nominee Deana Carter titled "Celebrate Life", written by Ralph Stevens and Deana Carter.[11]

Relationship to Zach Galifianakis

Zach Galifianakis befriended Haist decades before the release of the documentary, paying her rent until her passing for much of this duration despite not yet achieving widespread fame and fortune as a comic for much of this time. Haist had been rendered homeless in her 50s as a result of a divorce with her husband who had been unfaithful. Galifianakis maintained a close friendship with Haist, once taking her as a date on the red carpet for his movie The Hangover in 2009.

Haist died in 2021 at the age of 95.[12]

References

  1. ^ "Thrillers, comedy and more coming to Vail Film Festival". Vail Daily. 27 February 2015. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  2. ^ "Film About Montana's "Queen Mimi" Packs the House". West Side People Magazine. 3 September 2014. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  3. ^ Groves, Don (16 February 2015). "Aussie makes docs with altruistic angle". IF Magazine. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  4. ^ Burns, Andrew (23 May 2013). "There's Something About Mimi". The Big issue. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
  5. ^ "'Queen Mimi' is at home on the red carpet -- and in a strip-mall laundromat". Los Angeles Times. 2016-05-13. Archived from the original on 2021-09-29.
  6. ^ Patterson, Alan (25 March 2015). "2015 Sarasota Film Festival Announces Full Lineup". Film Pulse. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  7. ^ a b Anna Marie de la Fuente for Variety. December 3, 2015 XLrator Media Picks Up Yaniv Rokah’s Documentary ‘Queen Mimi’
  8. ^ "'Hangover' Star Takes Laundry Pal From Homeless To The Red Carpet". CBS Los Angeles. 21 May 2013. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  9. ^ Weisman, Aly. "Zach Galifianakis Bought A Homeless Woman An Apartment — And Took Her To 'The Hangover III' Premiere". Business Insider. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  10. ^ a b c McCollum, Brian (10 May 2016). "'Queen Mimi' Exclusive Clip: Watch 88-Year-Old Marie 'Mimi' Haist Dance and Sing Celine Dion's 'I'm Alive'".
  11. ^ Myra Chanin for Huffington Post. May 16, 2016
  12. ^ Findlay, Shannen (2022-12-04). "In the late 90s, Zach Galifianakis met a homeless woman. He paid her rent for 27 years". Mamamia. Retrieved 2023-08-29.


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