Biography

Hong Kong-born Aya Tanimura, daughter of a Japanese diplomat and an Australian teacher, spent most of her childhood traveling from one exotic location to another, including Japan, Switzerland, Zimbabwe, Slovenia, England, and Mexico. Exposure to so many different cultures and environments enabled her to develop keen observation skills and the ability to adapt to new surroundings. Aya exhibited a flair for the arts early in life, selling her first painting at the age of nine. This eventually led to a career in photography, which pinnacled with her producing the internationally renowned Lucie Awards (International Photography Awards) and the Palm Springs Photo Festival, where she worked alongside such famed artists as William Claxton, Douglas Kirkland, Glen Wexler, and Bruce Weber. Aya currently resides in Los Angeles and is fulfilling a lifelong dream by making her first forays into the film industry. She recently flexed her coffee-making skills as an assistant on two features, Funny People and Inception, and is hoping to parlay that experience into a successful directing career. She just recently won the "Peoples Choice" award for her movie "Sweet As" which was produced by Barrie Osborne and is a finalist in the Los Angeles Magazine short film competition with her entry "Mrs. Kim".