Today we’d like to introduce you to Nana Okamoto.
Hi Nana, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I moved around a lot during my childhood because of my dad’s job. We lived in Kentucky, Singapore, and five different cities in Japan, all before I left for college. But no matter where we were, I was always surrounded by stories.
I learned English through watching The Powerpuff Girls and the spinoff tales that my dad would come up with on long car rides. I listened to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory on repeat on my iPod Classic when it was still called “the iPod.” I made a best friend over our shared obsession with Glee, and we developed a routine of predicting what would happen in the next episode.
My middle school dream was to be a subtitle translator. In retrospect, it was my way of being close to the entertainment industry since I knew that being bilingual in Japanese and English was an asset. My parents are pretty liberal for Asian parents, but they still never talked about a career in the arts being a feasible and responsible decision. I dismissed my creative side as silly and frivolous and was too afraid to even admit that I was interested in telling stories myself.
I was still confused about what I wanted to do so I went to a liberal arts school. Grinnell College was amazing since I got to try out a variety of interests and ultimately cross them off my potential career paths. I cried my way through computer science classes, worked at an accounting firm over the summer, and became the video editor for the school newspaper.
I eventually landed a summer internship at Sesame Workshop, which was a dream come true. I lived with two of my college friends and one strange man in a tiny roach-infested apartment, but it was New York City, and I was working with Elmo! I was involved on the educational side, so I helped create lesson plans featuring Sesame Street characters to help elementary school children in Japan learn about financial empowerment, diversity, and inclusion. This internship opportunity turned into a part-time job during the last two years of college and then into a full-time position ready for me after graduation. But of course, the pandemic hit, and that no longer was an option.
With so much time on my hands, I started to rethink my priorities in life, as I’m sure many of us did. I started some new hobbies: Animal Crossing, candle-making, and screenwriting. With screenwriting, I wondered if it could be more than just a hobby. Could I ever make it into a real career? I applied to some graduate programs, hoping for some answers.
Next May, I will graduate from Loyola Marymount University with an MFA in Writing for the Screen. I still don’t know if I will get to be a full-time writer. This is such an unstable profession, and we’re still waiting for the dust to settle after the historic double strike. I do know that I’ve learned a lot about screenwriting and met amazing classmates, professors, and coworkers during my time in LA. And I know that I will do my very best to realize my goal.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It’s been smooth in the sense that I know that I want to stick around and find my way in this industry. My classes, internships, and set experiences have been essential in informing my decision on where I want to be career-wise in the future. I have many interests and would love to explore working in development and producing, but my primary goal is to be represented by a manager and start my journey to becoming a full-time writer.
However, I’m haunted by the constant question of “Will I ever be good enough?” When I was applying for grad school, I didn’t let anyone read my material since I was so insecure about it. I thought that they would judge me for how bad it was and would somehow uncover my deepest, darkest secrets through the fictional stories I created.
Once in school, I was forced to send my pages to my classmates for notes, and that was mortifying. Even if I believed in my idea, I hated everything I wrote that first year. But as I became more familiar with screenwriting, I gained some confidence and learned to stop being a perfectionist. Of course, the story isn’t going to be Oscar-worthy with just the first draft. It needs to go through a dozen iterations for me to even understand exactly what I wanted to say with this story, and a dozen more to get it into good shape. And even then, it won’t be perfect. I may still hate it and be plagued with self-doubt. But I just need to keep working at it, and that’s the most important part.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am a writer, primarily, but I’m open to producing or maybe even directing in the future. I gravitate more towards features and am enjoying the process of exploring different genres through my writing.
I always go into new projects with the mindset of “What are stories that I need to get off my chest?” I don’t think about the market or trends; it’s always a self-serving decision for me. But I truly believe that if I can relate so deeply to a story and its characters, others will too since the human condition is simultaneously so specific and so universal.
For example, my first feature was about two sisters who have just moved from New York to Kyoto after their parents’ divorce. They’re able to see yokai, spirits from Japanese folklore, and when the younger sister is tricked by a demon sorceress, the jaded older sister must search the yokai realm and save her sister before it’s too late.
You don’t need to have almost been killed by an evil yokai to connect with this story; I certainly haven’t. I wanted to tell this particular story to illustrate the themes of displacement, belonging, and forgiveness.
Belonging is a theme that I find myself writing about constantly since I was always searching for my place every time my family moved to a new city. Many of the characters I write seek refuge in the wrong communities and must go on a journey of self-discovery to reorganize their priorities and values.
How do you think about luck?
I think I’m generally a lucky person. But I also believe that luck is something you attract. You have to be putting yourself out there and seeking opportunities to be lucky.
I really wanted to land a development internship the summer after my first year in grad school. I wanted to learn how to write coverage and get industry experience. I kept applying to job listings, but I was hearing a lot of no’s or worse, radio silence. I blamed it on my lack of experience since nowadays, it seems like you need years of experience to even qualify for an entry-level position.
One day, I got a reply from Ryan Paine at Roadside Attractions, a production and distribution company. We chatted over the phone and later at the office. I was ready to recite my resume but it was actually more like getting to know someone rather than a traditional job interview.
I was lucky because I ended up getting the job. This was one of those rare and coveted “paid internships” so I was confused as to why Ryan even considered me someone with no previous experience and no connections. Later, I asked him why he hired me, and he said that I seemed like a good person. He said that people can learn how to write coverage, but it’s harder to learn how to work well with others.
I was lucky because Roadside happened to be adapting Shortcomings, a graphic novel by a Japanese-American artist. They needed some dialogue to be translated into Japanese, and they had a perfect candidate for a translator sitting right at the front desk. Because of my contribution, I got a Special Thanks shoutout in the credits.
I was lucky because Shortcomings had licensed a portion of Yasujiro Ozu’s film to play in the background. I wanted to work in Japan this summer and when I asked Ryan if he had any contacts in Japan, he connected me with Shochiku, one of the Big Four film companies in Japan that produced most of Ozu’s works. That’s where I spent my summer, and I learned a lot about the Japanese film landscape there.
Good luck was definitely on my side but I also don’t want to diminish my experience and attribute it to luck alone. I did actively seek out these opportunities and I was qualified to carry out what was expected of me. But I do also acknowledge that I was at the right place at the right time and I’m so glad I found my way there.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @nana.okamoto
Image Credits
Kitoe Kumagai, Amanda Lei
