Keri Kaiulani Picolla

Born in Berkeley and raised in California and Hawaii, Keri is considered hapa (part Hawaiian, part Chinese, and part Italian). Not resembling any one specific ethnic group, her ethnic ambiguity coupled with her vagabond childhood attributed to Keri’s ability to move easily between spaces, not quite belonging yet longing to belong. What better place to try to fit in than Hollywood itself?

Keri’s path to writing has been anything but linear and began not with a pen but with a make-up brush. After years working as a makeup artist, Keri was inspired to write and create her films and she helmed a handful of festival darlings including an adaptation of Paulo Coelho’s bestselling novel THE WITCH OF PORTOBELLO which was hand-picked as a finalist in the international competition hosted by the author himself and featured in several international film festivals. In turn, this spurned a passion for the craft and she returned to the university setting at Cal State Northridge where she earned a degree in film. A few short films later, she got married, had not one but two babies (daughters, one of which is autistic), and all while pursuing (and graduating) with an MFA in Creative Writing.

Keri lives in Los Angeles with her actor husband and their daughters. In her spare time, Keri enjoys hiking, dancing with her hula halau, listening to podcasts, watching all of the tv and reading all of the books.