Maya Washington is an award-winning writer/director/producer from Minneapolis, MN. 2018 marked the release of her latest films: the award-winning narrative short film, CLEAR, about a woman reconnecting with her teen daughter after a wrongful conviction, and a sports documentary, Through the Banks of the Red Cedar, about her father, Gene Washington, who was a member of the first fully integrated college football team in America. Maya began her creative career as a dancer turned musical theatre actor in the Twin Cities vibrant theatre community as a child performer. While at USC, she studied acting, directing, film and dramatic writing, which allowed her to explore her passion for storytelling in a variety of mediums. While pursuing her MFA, Maya worked full time as a professional actor and choreographer. Her background on stage/camera and behind the scenes has given her the opportunity to work on everything from live theatre, commercials and print ads, to web series, films and television. Maya is dedicated to projects that have a sense of “purpose” in the world, selecting stories that illuminate some aspect of the human experience that is untold, rarely seen, or might benefit from new approaches to issues of diversity and inclusion, primarily in America. Her award-winning narrative short White Space (starring ABC Family Switched at Birth’s Ryan Lane) about a deaf performance poet aired on network television and was nominated for a Black Reel Award.