Mayu Hirano

Executive Producer
RITORNELLO FILMS LLC. | Japan

BIO
Mayu Hirano is an award-winning international film and television producer/filmmaker based in Japan, who has worked on documentaries and factual programmes for decades. She served as a jury member for the International Emmy Awards. Since 2014, she has actively dedicated herself to co-production and development with international partners. She is also involved with the global forum event Tokyo Docs, supporting the Japanese and Asian filmmakers to have an oversea expansion of their documentaries, including international co-productions. Representative producer works include "Portrait of the Rainbow" LGBTQ story in Japan, screened in various festivals worldwide. "Red Children"; foreign children raised in China during the Cultural Revolution, co-produced with Germany and Taiwan CNEX, distributed in many countries. "Only I Can Hear", a coming-of-age story about a hearing girl living in rural America with her deaf family, pitched at Hot Docs, co-produced with Canada, began broadcasting. She has produced numerous programs with Japanese broadcasters, particularly NHK. In 2021, she created RITORNELLO FILMS, a production house that produced documentaries of relevance for the benefit of society. It is committed to creating stories from Japan and Asia that connect the world through its strong network. She believes that international co-production is one way to mature the strength of documentaries.

Institute/ Organization Profile
RITORNELLO FILMS, a production house launched in 2021 with group of three producers/filmmakers with rich international experience. Their motto is to maximize the strength of the documentary and to disclose the voices of people on the fringe of society. The aim is to establish a new framework for the development of domestic and international films led by individual filmmakers. The team of experienced filmmakers seek to reveal the truth behind the story, by earning trust and respect from their collaborators. They have won numerous local and international awards. They have created challenging and highly acclaimed projects around the world via international co-productions. A Treasured Creation, a story of "craftsmanship" and its "philosophy", has 14 episodes and it will continue to be filmed. Only I Can Hear, CODA's film was co-produced with Canadian production. Other Works: NHK, MAFF, BBC, etc.