Kayo Hatta

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Kayo Hatta (March 18, 1958 - July 20, 2005) was an American film director best known for her 1994 independent film Picture Bride.

Born in Honolulu, Hawaii, Hatta graduated from Stanford University and obtained a master's degree in film from UCLA. She began her first film, Picture Bride, as a short film at UCLA, but felt the material deserved to be feature length. The film garnered a Sundance audience award for best dramatic film in 1995 and was praised for its authenticity (including use of real Hawaiian extras and locations); it has been used as curriculum for a number of Hawaii universities and schools. In 1999 Hatta narrowly lost out on the chance to direct the Ethan Hawke film Snow Falling on Cedars. She directed a number of other short films, including Otemba ("Tomboy") (1988), which the Pan-Asian Filmmakers Foundation cited as one of three "Defining Moments in Asian American Cinema," Bus Stop (1990), and Kids '99 (1999).

In 2005 Hatta completed work on a short film, Fishbowl, based on the writings of Hawaiian author Lois-Ann Yamanaka. The coming-of-age tale of plantation kids searching for a better life premiered at the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival and aired on PBS in March 2006. In May 2007 the film won a Regional Emmy Award (Northern California/Hawaii Area), in the category of Historical/Cultural – Program/Special^[1].

Hatta did not live to see the reaction to her latest work. In July 2005 she drowned in San Diego. Hatta is survived by her mother and three sisters.