Maiki (舞樹) Kayo is a Japanese-American bilingual filmmaker raised in Honolulu and Tokyo. She dedicated her MFA in Film Directing from Chapman University (2025) to writing and directing stories that explore 'connection' and the various forms it can take, especially as it relates to culture, love, and family. Combined with her work through a BA in Cultural Studies and Film Studies at McGill University (2018), she's eager to create films that interweave theory with practice. Maiki wants her films to serve as sites of empathy, encouraging us to contemplate what it means to connect with oneself and with others.
Thus far, Maiki has directed six short films, half of which she has also written and/or produced, and one of which she has also edited. Her thesis, どこまでも “Dokomademo” (To Anywhere) (2025), is currently under consideration for film festivals and is a Japanese slice-of-life drama about SORA (25) and her childhood tradition with DAD (50s). Some other things Maiki's passionate about are the voices of people of color, affect, positionality, heritage, nature, and comedy, and some avenues of storytelling she’s currently interested in are digital media, documentary, music video, literature, and screen acting.
Outside of film, she also has diverse experience in creative direction, content management, teaching and tutoring, event planning, fashion, and Japanese/English interpretation. In her free time, she loves to cook, read, enjoy parks, find the best mom and pop shops in town, and spend time with her loved ones.
Favorites of all time:
Aftersun by Charlotte Wells, Shoplifters by Hirokazu Koreeda, anything Trixie Mattel and Katya Zamolodchikova, Persona by Ingmar Bergman, Ladybird by Greta Gerwig
Currently reading: Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer