About

Mana Handel is a film editor and motion graphics designer based out of Brooklyn, NY. She has considerable experience in short form documentaries/narratives, web-series, and branded content. In the past, she has worked with names like Google, NFL, and Mass Appeal to help bring their stories online and on to the screen.

When Mana was 13, her vocal cord was paralyzed in a surgery mishap, rendering her voice weak. As a result, she turned to filmmaking, its malleable medium still giving her the ability to be heard, perhaps because what she lacks in volume is made up with her ingenuity. Mana has since used her voice paralysis, as well as her Japanese American heritage and queer identity, as inspiration in much of her work. In her spare time, however, Mana enjoys petting cats and wondering why giraffes fight with their necks.

Mana has won various awards for her film work, most notably for "Hashi," which was honored with the Best Florida Flavor award from Love Your Shorts Film Festival 2016 and the Best Narrative Short award from the Black Warrior Film Festival 2015.