Mayu earned an MFA from the Graduate Film Program at New York University. In 2006, her first fiction feature, “The Summer of Stickleback,” premiered in the competition section at Busan International Film Festival.

In 2012, Mayu directed the documentary feature, “Lonely Swallows–Living as the Children of Migrant Workers,” which follows Japanese Brazilian kids struggling to survive in Japan and Brazil. The film won the Grand Prix in Documentary Features at the Brazilian Film Festival.

In 2015, Mayu directed another documentary feature, “Alone in Fukushima.” The film follows the man who stays with animals left behind in the Fukushima nuclear zone. The film was screened in the documentary section at the Montreal World Film Festival.

The film’s sequel “Alone Again in Fukushima” was screened at the Yamagata International Film Festival. Her writing credits include the script for “Tokyo Trial,” a Dutch/Canadian/Japanese scripted series that was nominated for the 45th Emmy Awards for Best TV Movie/Mini-Series.

Her thriller feature, “Intimate Stranger” had its world premiere at the 34th Tokyo International Film Festival, in Nippon Cinema Now section.

Director Nakamura’s latest fiction feature, “She is me, I am her” saw its world premiere at Japan Society NYC in 2022.