Why I decided to pursue filmmaking
Hello Medium!
My name is Maikaru and I am new to Medium. My friend writes on here and suggested this would be a great place for me to write at. I do not expect this first article to be perfect, so please let me refine my craft during this writing journey.
What ignited the passion for filmmaking
So it was 2014, and my former boss called me out of the blue. She shared there was an upcoming documentary challenge and that there were a bunch of prompts they could be given. She asked if they had selected biography if I would be willing to share my story.
I was an employee of hers back in 2013 at an artist gallery, and she got to know my story as their company had only five employees and everyone had lunch together. Everyone had worked there for at least five years, so I was the new person and was refreshing to get to know someone new there.
The crazy five day process of making a short documentary
We ended up filming for five days, and it was an amazing experience to see how fast they could film, storyboard, edit, and upload for submission. was studying for the GMAT in between every take, so sometimes I would shout a random vocabulary word and the definition. After we finished filming, I went to the testing center and got a score that qualified me for my graduate program.
We ended up in Toronto Hot Docs, and I was able to use miles to fly to this World Premiere. I arrived half a day before my Friend who was also the Director of this documentary. I got to explore Toronto and many of the functions were new to me. Everyone kept asking me about my next projects, and I kept thinking ‘this question should be for my Director and Producers.’ But then it got me thinking of what projects would I want to make? We ended up watching tons of documentaries at this festival. And then My director won Best Director! That was a thrill as it was her first time directing.
This documentary short then got accepted at Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF). I was so nervous as my whole city was about to ‘know all my dirty laundry.’ No one had known this big secret of mine; I am a human traffick survivor, not even my best friend.
The USA Premiere and my city about to know all my deepest darkest secrets
Then came the USA premiere at SIFF and I was so nervous because now the world will know, and some people could be uncomfortable knowing this about me.
I ended up walking the red carpet and it was so odd as someone like myself doesn’t get to experience this that often, yet alone once. Then got to mingle with all the film makers and members of SIFF.
There was a small short films award ceremony at a local bar, and my director went with her husband. She did not want to bring me and get my hopes up. But I got a call shortly after with her shouting “we won! and just signed papers making us eligible for an Academy Awards!”
Getting an email from a bigwig
Someone huge ended up emailing the producers wanting to discuss about the film, and I was mind blown because how did this person find me and even know my name??
We ended up not getting nominated, but did end up on Seattle’s PBS network KCTS9 In Close show. Enrique Cerna interviewed me about the film and asked some more in depth questions that did not make the cut of the short film. The film had to be seven minutes or less (not including credits), so many things did not make the cut as you can imagine. So now a different group of people would know about my story, there was no going back now.
Now there is a spark, what is next?
Though this process, it sparked my passion for storytelling. I wanted to inspire others and tell diverse and inclusive stories to the best of my ability. I have written, produced, edited, or directed some short stories, web series, commercials. I made that decision to just write and film any story that popped into my head no matter how ridiculous my inner-saboteur thought it was. Because if you don’t try it, there will be way more regret of not doing something than trying something and it not working.
My first short film was for the 48 hour short film challenge, this was obviously even shorter than the 5 day documentary challenge. I knew this would be a whirlwind crash course, but it forced my team to be as creative on the fly as possible! The team started writing as soon as we got our assignments and we started our first filming at 3AM in the morning on a Saturday around the Seattle Pier! We did not get any sleep until Sunday after we dropped off our USB submission.
Check out the short film below:
June’s Atonement Short film for 48 hour film challenge (about eight minutes running time)
Writing and Directing my first content
Because of this stories just started to pop in my head and I could not refuse them. I had a web series idea and was able to write, cast, film and edit the pilot episode. I had to go through the SAG process for a few acting roles as I was truly interested in these people and believed they could portray that character the best. The pandemic hit and paused this story, although I still plan to film it. Someone from the industry that this web series is about was able to reach out and offered to invest in this story as he is passionate about his industry.
I love matcha, and the idea popped in my head, leading me to find a matcha Company Naoki Matcha in Japan. I was able to have conversations with them to feature a short film that could also be a commercial. We were even able to promote and offer a giveaway to let people try out the matcha.
Check out the short film on Matcha:
Whisked Away by Matcha Short Film (about six minutes running time)
So after going through literal hell, I say during these tough times, if you have a passion, try it three times. The first time is learning the ropes, the second is to reflect what worked and what didn’t, and the third is the refinement. If you only try it once, high chances of not doing it perfectly the first time.
I appreciate you taking the time to read this story of mine and hope I will learn from this Medium community that my friend Will suggested I explore.
What are some reasons you pursued filmmaking or even a new passions?
Below are some links to articles as well as a PBS segment I was featured in:
PBS KCTS9 In-Close Segment (about seven minutes running time)
