Maori is a curator, filmmaker and cultural worker. She is the founder and artistic director of BlackStar Film Festival. She has organized programs in film and performance at a myriad of organizations including: Anthology Film Archives, Institute of Contemporary Art Philadelphia, Barnes Foundation, Asian Arts Initiative, Painted Bride Art Center, Scribe Video Center, Lightbox Film Center, and the Underground Museum. Other projects include KinoWatt (2011-2012), co-curated with Sara Zia Ebrahimi, and Black Lily Film & Music Festival for Women (2006-2010). As a filmmaker, her film and video works have screened internationally including most notably, her feature documentary Scene Not Heard: Women in Philadelphia Hip-Hop. Maori was a fellow at the 60th Flaherty Film Seminar (2014) and a 2016 Ford Foundation Rockwood JustFilms Fellow. She received her MFA in Film & Media Arts from Temple University, her BA in History from American University, and did postgraduate studies in Design