Marlene Shigekawa's Japanese American heritage informs her work as a filmmaker.   Her journey involving the questioning of  inequities and confronting injustices based on race is a result of her family's imprisonment in a Japanese American incarceration camp during World War II.

​

She specializes in creating projects that give voice to marginalized communities and characters, particularly Asian Americans, and creates work that defies stereotypes. With Asian female and male character Ieads in her work, it is her goal and mission to bring more diversity to the screen. Prior work involving the exploration of cross cultural differences enables her to bring authentic cultural voices to her projects.