Maya Tanaka is a writer + filmmaker based in Brooklyn. Her work examines intimate historical narratives around cultural legacy, queerness, gender and sexuality.

Maya is the 2021 recipient of the Tribeca Studios x Chanel Through Her Lens Female Filmmaking grant in support of her most recent film, Honolulu, which she wrote and directed.

Her previous short film, The Price of Cheap Rent (co-directed and written by Amina Sutton), premiered at The Toronto Internation Film Festival 2020, won the NYWIFT Female Director award at TIDE Film Festival, and is distributed online as a part of The New Yorker’s screening room series. Her films have shown at Urbanworld Film Festival, New Orleans Film Festival, Atlanta International Film Festival, Cincinnati International Film Festival, Chicago International Film Festival, Cucalorus, Aspen Shortsfest, Hollyshorts, Blackstar, and more.

She is working on her first feature-length screenplay and a collection of short stories.