Dear Dad - A Documentary Film by Mayumi Maruyama

Mayumi Maruyama, Director / Producer
Born in Columbus, Ohio and raised in Rochester Hills, Michigan, Mayumi grew up in two different cultures simultaneously. After attending public school during weekdays, she attended Japanese Saturday school to gain Japanese reading and writing skills. She also went to school in Japan over the summers to gain cultural understanding of her background until her freshman year of high school. When she was 16 years old, she became interested in filmmaking, and went to the New York Film Academy Summer program to learn the art of cinematic story telling. Her first film “Transgression” was accepted at the Central Michigan Film Festival, won 1st place the high school division, and was an Official Selection for the New York Short Film Festival in 2004. Since then, Mayumi became strongly motivated to pursue filmmaking as a career, and left her home town to attend a boarding school called the Idyllwild Arts Academy for her senior year of high school. Having a filmmaking department allowed her to focus on film full time. This is where she started making “Dear Dad” and began working with mentor Ira Abrams. The film’s first cut was recognized as Best Film at her school. She also graduated with top honors in her department. Today, she is in her second year at Brooks Institute of Photography.

Ira Abrams, Executive Producer
Moving Pictures instructor at the Idyllwild Arts Academy. Holds a Ph.D. and M.A. degrees in Social Relations/Social Anthropology from Harvard University and a B.A. in Anthropology from the University of California, Los Angeles. He is currently a faculty member at the Idyllwild Arts Academy where he teaches in the Moving Pictures Department, along with serving as Institutional Director of ScriptEd Only Screenwriting Conservatory, a distance learning screenwriting program. Ira is a member of the Producers Guild of America and serves as President, Board of Directors of CineStory, a national non-profit screenwriter’s organization. He has been a Visiting Professor of Film and Television at Chapman University, Chair and Professor, Department of Film and Video at Columbia College in Chicago, IL, Associate Professor of Radio-Television-Film at the University of Texas, Austin and a visiting faculty member at the Instituto Tecnologico, Monterrey, Mexico, the International Film and Television Workshops, Oaxaca, Mexico and Rockport, Maine, and the University of Manchester, England. As a professional filmmaker, Ira is president of Xaibe Productions, Inc. which produces series for broadcast and educational use. He has been a series producer for Chicago Tomorrow, WTTW Public Television, Chicago and executive producer for many educational and documentary films and television productions.

Kevin Jones, Editor
Los Angeles based editor in Los Angeles. His previous work includes emmy award winning feature "A Lion in the House" and others. His reel can be found here.

Guy Livneh, Director of Photography
Guy Livneh is a Director of Photography based in Los Angeles, California. He has photographed feature films and documentaries, advertising campaigns, and music videos. Feature film credits include Kids in America, Brothers in Arms, Michael Blanco, Purple Heart, Hungry Hearts, Final Draft, The Challenge, and second unit work for the Academy Award winning film, Monster.

Tom Bliss, Mentor
Owner of Strike Entertainment based in Santa Monica, CA.

Sandra Ruch, Mentor
Former Executive Director of International Documentary Association (IDA).