A Taiwanese native with Minnesotan roots, Joan Mao is a recent graduate of the American Film Institute Conservatory, where she earned her MFA as an Editing Fellow. Before stepping into the cutting room, Joan spent nearly a decade at the front end of the filmmaking process—working as a feature development executive and shepherding projects from script to screen. With a BA in English Literature from Fordham University, she brings a literary lens and story-first mindset to every frame she cuts.
Joan’s path to editing wasn’t linear—it was a winding, cross-country journey marked by curiosity, reinvention, and a touch of chaos. But once she found the cutting room, she never looked back. Her approach to storytelling is equal parts precision and mischief, shaped by a love of rhythm, emotion, and visual architecture.
Driven by narratives that challenge convention and ignite conversation, Joan gravitates toward films that bend genres, provoke thought, or simply deliver a damn good time. Her creative tastes span the absurd to the macabre, with each project offering a new lens on the human experience.
Also, once upon a time, she won an air guitar contest. So yes—she knows how to hit a beat.
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