Mai Nakanishi

Born in Tokyo but spent most of her youth abroad, Nakanishi is a Japanese filmmaker whose work focuses on genre films with particular emphasis on social horror. Her directorial debut “HANA”, a supernatural horror short which was shot in South Korea was invited to over 30 film festivals including Sitges, Fright Fest UK and BiFan, winning multiple awards. Her recent work includes SWALLOW (’21), a female-driven, food-infused body horror shot in Taiwan, which won the Special Mention at the 52nd Tampere Film Festival. Through filmmaking, she hopes to explore sociocultural fears and anxieties lurking in daily life and expand the spectrum of genre films by challenging traditional storytelling norms and centering on women's experiences that are often overlooked in cinema. 
She's currently developing her first feature length film.