Maiki is a Japanese-American woman from Honolulu and Tokyo. Currently pursuing an MFA in Film Directing, she seeks to write and direct stories that explore the various forms ‘connection’ can take, especially across different cultures. Applying the work she’s done through her Cultural Studies degree at McGill University (B.A 2018), she now seeks to merge theory with practice through film, media, literature, and art. Maiki wants her films to serve as sites of empathy, encouraging us to contemplate what it means to connect with others and with oneself.

Thus far, Maiki has directed six short films, three of which she has also written and/or produced, and one of which she has also edited. Currently, she’s working on completing her thesis, Dokomademo (To Anywhere) (2025), which is a Japanese slice-of-life father-daughter drama about the moment you realize your parents are human, too. Some other themes she’s passionate about are emotionality, affect, positionality, love, family, routine, diversity, and nature, and some mediums she’s interested in now are nonfiction, documentary, journalism, music video, poetry, and multimedia.

When she’s not making things, she loves to enjoy parks and nature, cooking, finding the best mom and pop shops in town, watching TV, and spending time with her loved ones.