Born in Tokyo, raised in Germany and the UK with a stint in Kenya, I adopt an intercultural approach to documentary filmmaking that empower local perspectives with a universal message for international audiences.
I'm a self-shooting Producer-Director working on pieces of video journalism, short documentaries and arts films for online platforms worldwide, with work published and seen in global brands such as BBC, Aeon, Nowness, AP, Reuters Foundation and others. Whilst I'm currently developing my first independent documentary feature, I also enjoy profiling people who challenge us with interesting ideas, values and perspectives - and would like to work with mediums that has room to adopt a more experimental and stylised approach to documentaries.
My grounding in understanding what's required to produce agency news video on an 24-hour international scale was gained whilst at Associated Press Television News headquartered in London, where I worked as Deputy News Editor, Media Manager and Producer for over three years. I have also done some written reporting on human rights issues which have often been accompanied with pieces of photography, published in outlets such as VICE, Washington Post and New Statesman.
Formally a musician and dancer, I started dabbling in journalism by interviewing politicians whilst studying music at Cambridge University, and started teaching myself how to make films through winning grants by the BFI for young emerging filmmakers after graduating. During my secondary school years, I was a Music and Dance scheme scholar at the Purcell School of Music, where I specialised in classical piano performance as well as studies in violin, harpsichord and music technology.
Whether you would potentially like to collaborate or just chat about the world we live in, you can reach out to me on commissions.mari@gmail.com
Projects
- 3D Nipple Tattoos For Breast Cancer Survivors - Aeon"With great tenderness and intimacy, this short documentary by the Japanese video artist Mari Shibata brings us into a very unusual tattooing session. Katie, who has had a double mastectomy following breast cancer, receives 3D nipple tattoos from Claire, a career make-up artist who provides free services to former cancer patients. The moment when Katie sees herself transformed shows how a small act of altruism can help to heal a patient’s complex post-cancer relationship with her body." - A
- Inside the world's biggest e-waste "dump" - Motherboard, VICEThis photo series was born as a result of the workers and residents of Agbogbloshie, who wanted to counter the negativity around the over-popularised portraits of their community covered in black smoke from burning electronics to extract the copper they sell to earn a living. A former wetland in the suburb's of the Ghanian capital, it's allegedly the centre of an illegal exportation network for the dumping of outdated, broken and unusuable products from Western nations.
- Bashoiri: Arrival of the Sumo Wrestlers - Nowness (Premiere)Documentaries about sumo wrestlers obsessing on their distinct physique - namely its upkeep and action inside the ring - are all too common. Instead, I turned the lens on how their rank relates to their rule-based lifestyle and its affect on public image – most visible during the Bashoiri, their arrival to tournament venues, deliberately designed to be within close distance from the public.
- Flags of the estate - World Cup 2018Residents in a London estate covered with over 300 England flags watch football tournaments with their immigrant neighbours. A portrait of the World Cup with timeless values of identity, diversity and friendship, this short observational documentary zooms in on 10-year-old Ashley caught between supporting her Colombian roots and English upbringing.
- Virtual Currency Girls: J-pop band for the crypto craze - BBCNewcomers to the crypto craze often have trouble wrapping their heads around the concept – so a new Japanese pop group is here to help. Each member of the 'Virtual Currency Girls' – or Kasotsuka Shojo in Japanese – adopts the guise of a different cryptocurrency, wearing metallic wrestling-style masks and frilly maid outfits as they dance and sing about virtual markets. Coming from a country with some of the world’s biggest digital exchanges, the Virtual Currency Girls dream of promoting their mu
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Work history
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ProducerAssociated Press Television News
- London, United KingdomFreelance
• Filmed, conducted, researched stories and locations, monitoring sources, cleared accreditation, updated newsroom on developments, editing video on Final Cut Pro or Adobe Premier, writing shotlists and story lines on location, sending FTP files to London MCR using DropDat.
• Covered breaking news stories for AP London bureau including Japanese ministers for meetings on IS hostage crisis, death of Margaret Thatcher, UN hearings by North Korean defectors, ongoing updates on British Queen’s health, analyst reactions to ongoing conflicts.
• Based at Kiev bureau during referendum on Russian sovereignty in Crimea, edited rushes sent in by AP video journalists in Ukraine, verifying editorial content with AP producers based at the bureau to script storylines for the London newsroom.
• Solo video journalist filing features - stories include Japanese Snow Monkeys (No.1 Horizons story 7-14th January), Malian Blues from war-torn Timbuktu, selfie stick ban in museums across Europe.
• Output/Post-Production: Finalised agency video edits brought into the newsroom. Turned around up to 15 agency video stories a day to make clips and scripts available for clients through a digital web portal and hourly news bulletins. Shaped copy to AP standards, liaised with field producers to verify information, checked translations and ensured storylines correspond with AP wires.
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Deputy News EditorAssociated Press Television News
- London, United KingdomFreelance
• Overseeing intake of international news video alongside the Editor of the Day (EOD) and Intake Editor, driving daily editorial agenda with AP bureaux across the globe.
• Liaising with staff and freelance video journalists around the world on latest developments of breaking international stories, vetting pitches, guiding and assigning stories as events unfold on the ground.
• Responsible for monitoring video and wires produced by competitors, strategising with field producers on delivering breaking news video ahead of competition without compromising editorial standards.
• Managing Eurovision desk by advising field producers on editorial content of packages for European Broadcast Union's news exchanges, cutting from live signal for immediate broadcast via EBU headquarters in Geneva and sub-editing scripts for immediate publication on the EBU website.
• Responsible for writing daily news log distributed around the company assessing quality of stories highlighting top video, comparison with competitors and collecting data on client usage.
• Liaising between Live Content Managers and Output Editors on bringing both recorded and live video into newsroom, prioritising transmissions according to client demand.
• Discussing with Photo Editors on incorporating still images for video packages and screen capturing user generated video, particularly on graphically sensitive content where running the clip would not be acceptable under AP standards.
Skills
- Documentary
- Video Journalism
- Directing
- Self Shooter
- Videography
- Digital
- Social Media
- Video Production
- Content
- Writing
Education
BA(Hons) Music University of Cambridge
- St John's College, St John's Street, Cambridge CB2 1TP, United Kingdom