I am an award-winning, Emmy-nominated documentary filmmaker and editor dedicated to co-creating films about the human experience in this complex world we live in. Roger Ebert once called films “empathy building machines” as they allow us access and insight into otherwise remote experiences. Yet what the camera can reveal over time is not only the beauty of our differences, but the common humanity we all share beneath the surface of things. I also believe that this moment in our history, summons us in this calling to shine a light on the deep inequities of our world, to use the power of our medium inclusively and collaboratively, as a means for positive transformation and empowerment.
Touching The Untouchable
I'm a documentary editor (and director of my own projects) that enjoys the collaborative and creative journey of making films of all styles, lengths, and kinds of stories. My work has been Emmy-nominated, screened at festivals around the world and won over 20 awards and has been broadcast on PBS and streamed on various platforms including PBS, Apple TV, and Amazon. I especially love working in verité and finding the heart of a story in the footage, but I am adaptable to any and every style of film.
My work includes: films about the San Francisco Public Defenders and the criminal justice system, former lifers immersing themselves in the the natural world, Japanese American peach farmers in the Central Valley, a community of unhoused recyclers in West Oakland, part of a series of inspirational films connecting mental and emotional wellbeing, and most recently a community battle in New York’s Chinatown, among many other stories I’ve been honored to help bring to light.
Long before I was a filmmaker I was: a musician in a series of bands, a care provider for at-risk toddlers in the Tenderloin district of San Francisco, an English teacher in Hiroshima, the first employee of a nonprofit preserving the dark immigration history at Angel Island , and a radio host and global music DJ (working with music producers from around the world for my soundtracks and sharing my passion for music through blending cinematic sound mixes here). All these varied experiences have helped make me the editor, filmmaker and the person that I am today.
The path to making a documentary film can be a long one and I’ve been through it multiple times, sometimes as a director/producer, sometimes as an editor, and sometime all the above, so I understand the pressures that come with each role. The marathon of the documentary journey can , at its most challenging, be a lonely and arduous process. I believe having empathetic and creative support along the way can make all the difference in the quality of the film and also the richness of the filmmaking experience itself.
Honors and Awards
Chihiro speaking at the Opening Night screening of RICOCHET at SF DocFest (San Francisco Documentary Film Festival) at the Roxie Theater
Honors
National Emmy Award Nominee (Outstanding Business and Economic Documentary)
IF/Then Shorts x Redford Center Nature Connection Pitch
Sundance Creative Producing Institute
Bay Area Video Coalition MediaMaker Fellowship
Big Tell Storyteller
On Being Gathering invitee (with Krista Tippett)
Oakland Hatchlab
Film Awards
2023:
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE - Harlem International Film Festival
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE/CLOSING FILM - Latino & Native American Film Festival
2022:
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE - CineSol Film Festival
IMPACT IN ARTS & MEDIA AWARD - National Immigration Project
CLOSING NIGHT FILM - Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE - Bronx Social Justice Matters Film Festival
GRAND JURY PRIZE - El Paso Film Festival
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE - El Paso Film Festival
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE - Footcandle Film Festival
BEST DOCUMENTARY HONORABLE MENTION - Festival De Cine Latino Americano
OPENING NIGHT FILM - SF Social & Economic Justice Film Festival
AUDIENCE AWARD BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE - Cine Las Americas Film Festival
OPENING NIGHT FILM - SF DocFest
BEST DIRECTOR DOCUMENTARY FEATURE - OKCine Latino
JASON D. MAK AWARD FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE - DisOrient Asian American Film Festival
OPENING NIGHT FILM - Disorient Asian American Film Festival
SPECIAL RECOGNITION FOR EDITING DOCUMENTARY FEATURE - Thin Line Fest
2021
AUDIENCE AWARD BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE - CAAMFest
2017
ACTIVE CINEMA AUDIENCE AWARD - Mill Valley Film Festival
2016
DAN ELDON ACTIVIST AWARD (Runner-Up) - My Hero Film Festival
2015
SPIRIT OF BERNAL AWARD - Bernal Heights Outdoor Cinema