SXSW: Filmmaker Mei Makino Previews Her Hapa Coming-of-Age Movie 'Inbetween Girl' (Exclusive)
For her feature film debut, Mei Makino wanted to create a story that captured the flaws and imperfections of teenage life—particularly the confusion of having a multiracial identity. She initially sought to model her protagonist after the Black Latina students she taught in her Austin, Tex., youth film program, but when local actress Emma Galbraith auditioned, she rewrote the character as hapa—of half-Asian descent, like Makino and Galbraith both are.