Paul Mayeda Berges (born September 11, 1968) is an American screenwriter and director, notably as co-writer of 2002's ''

Bend It Like Beckham ''Bend It Like Beckham'' (also known as ''Kick It Like Beckham'') is a 2002 sports comedy-drama film directed by Gurinder Chadha from a screenplay by Chadha, Paul Mayeda Berges, and Guljit Bindra. The film stars Parminder Nagra, Keira Knightle ...

''. Of Japanese and

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

ancestry,The Guardian: Interview – Gurinder Chadha (16 July 2006)
''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

''. Berges attended the

University of California, Santa Cruz The University of California, Santa Cruz (UC Santa Cruz or UCSC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Santa Cruz, California. It is one of the ten campuses in the University of California syste ...

, where he studied film and graduated in 1990. He began his career by making documentaries (on the

Japanese American are Americans of Japanese ancestry. Japanese Americans were among the three largest Asian American ethnic communities during the 20th century; but, according to the 2000 census, they have declined in number to constitute the sixth largest Asi ...

community) and teaching

film production Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, casti ...

(to high school students). He has collaborated with his wife, British-Indian director

Gurinder Chadha Gurinder Chadha, (born 10 January 1960) is a British film director of Indian origin. Most of her films explore the lives of Indians living in England. The common theme among her work showcases the trials of Indian women living in the UK and ho ...

, on a number of films and made his directorial debut in 2005 with ''

The Mistress of Spices ''The Mistress of Spices'' is a 2005 American romantic drama film by Paul Mayeda Berges, with a screenplay by Gurinder Chadha and Berges. It is based upon the 1997 novel '' Mistress of Spices'' by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni. The film stars Aishwa ...

'', based on the novel by

Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni (born Chitralekha Banerjee, 1956) is an Indian-born American author, poet, and the Betty and Gene McDavid Professor of Writing at the University of Houston Creative Writing Program. Her short story collection, ''Arrang ...

. Berges officially met Chadha in March 1994, while he was working as a festival director at the San Francisco Asian American International Film Festival. They had also briefly met in September 1993. They married in the mid-nineties and have twins together; a boy named Ronak and a girl named Kumiko (born June 7, 2007).

Filmography

References

External links

*
BBC Movies: Interview – Paul Mayeda Berges
(April 2006)
Birmingham Mail: Film Reviews – Film: Gurinder Chadha reveals how marriage and babies were written in her stars
(April 23, 2010)
Culture.com: Bend It Like Beckham – About The Filmmakers

* ttp://www.radiosargam.com/films/archives/4466/gurinder-chadha-gives-birth-to-twins.html RS Bollywood Online: Premier Indian Film Portal – Gurinder Chadha gives birth to twins(June 9, 2007)
The Writing Studio: The art of writing and making films – THE MISTRESS OF SPICES (Paul Mayeda Berges – Director/Writer)

Toronto International Film Festival
{{DEFAULTSORT:Berges, Paul Mayeda 1968 births Living people University of California, Santa Cruz alumni American male screenwriters Film producers from California Film directors from California American film directors of Japanese descent American people of Basque descent People from Torrance, California Screenwriters from California