SYNOPSIS
Set in the heart of New York City, Maki is a modern love story depicting a young Japanese woman’s coming of age. Maki and Tommy can no longer conceal their hidden affair once they learn she's pregnant with his child. Their charismatic and persuasive boss, Mika, steps in and takes control. The story unsettles as it unfolds, revealing each character’s true intentions.
DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT
I wanted to explore themes of love and loss, power and manipulation through a new lens and I found ample inspiration in the Japanese Diaspora. These characters left Japan seeking change, but the deeper human need for belonging threw them back together in the Japanese subculture of New York City. The possibilities for dramatic tension captured my imagination and the story allowed me to experiment with form and style. Maki is a labor of love, made in the spirit of independent films by directors I admire like Kurosawa, Mizoguchi, Goddard, Cassavetes, Varda, as well as Persian directors like Kiarostami and Amir Naderi to name a few.
CAST
- Mieko Harada
- Mika/Mama-San
- Julian Cihi
- Tommy
- Naomi Sundberg
- Eva/Maki
- Yurika Ohno
- Yumiko
- Blanca Vivancos
- Violet
CREW
- Director
- Naghmeh Shirkhan
- Screenplay
- Naghmeh Shirkhan
- Japanese Translation
- Yuichi Tazawa
- Directors of Photography
- Ben Wolf (US), Katsunori Yanagijima (Tokyo)
- Editors
- Naghmeh Shirkhan, Shogo Yokoyama
- Music
- Patricia and Noel Brennan
- Sound Mixer
- Matt Gundy, Tom Paul
- Sound Recorder
- Andrew Salomone
- Set Designer
- Anna Kathleen
- Costumes
- Hannah Kittel
- Hair/Make-up
- Amanda Forsyth / EITA
- Production Manager
- JB Bruno
- Producer/Line Producer
- Nicky Akmal
- Producer
- Shohreh Golparian
- Associate Producer
- Curtis Smith
- Production Companies
- Ugly Productions / Small Talk Inc.
- Graphic Design
- Elizabeth Grove
NAGHMEH SHIRKHAN
Born in Iran, Naghmeh Shirkhan moved to America with her family a year before the Islamic Revolution. Her father returned to Tehran while the rapidly ensuing Iran-Iraq war prompted her mother to remain in America indefinitely. The experience of separation, displacement, and the struggles of starting anew are major themes in Naghmeh’s work. In 2010 her first arthouse feature, The Neighbor (Hamsayeh), hit the festival circuit to wide critical acclaim. Soon after, she began working on her second feature, Maki.
Education
Boston University; Bachelor of Science in Broadcasting and Film 1994
Feature Films
2017: Maki, Fiction, 90min, 4K, Color, Japan/USA
2010: The Neighbor (Hamsayeh), Fiction, 108 min, HD, Color, USA/Canada, theneighbor-film.com (opens in a new tab)
PRESS
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A young Japanese woman in New York is the heroine of a beautifully made story of cultural displacement and innocence betrayed.
Read the The Hollywood Reporter piece (opens in a new tab) -
Interview With “Maki” filmmaker Naghmeh Shirkhan!
Read the So Booking Cool piece (opens in a new tab) -
5 REASONS WE LOVE ‘MAKI’ (CHELSEA FILM FESTIVAL ’18)!
Read the Villain Media piece (opens in a new tab)
