ABOUT CATE
Cate's vast experiences with heroes and villains alike, as a Detective & Military Intelligence Specialist, ignited her passion for directing/writing. She wields bold and atmospheric storytelling in suspense thrillers and genre-blending films, with a future goal of also directing blockbusters with iconic characters. She has award-winning feature screenplays and short films, including the national competition Lionsgate short “Masque,” which also earned her a WIF directing award at the Crystal & Lucy’s and had over 3 million views. She was an HBO's Project Greenlight finalist and a director selectee for the Alliance of Women Directors Short Film Program grant, “Of Mine”, which premiered at Disney Studios in 2018.
Her latest film, “The Plumber” was a 13x award winner, screened at several Oscar-qualifying festivals, was a winner in the 6th annual Stage 32 short film contest, and earned her the Marlyn Mason award for new voices at Rhode Island Int'l Film Fest. She was fortunate to be selected as 1 of 9 fellows in the “Future Directors of Studio Features Initiative” by Blackmagic Design's Collective in 2021 and moved forward in the Next Level: Feature Directors two-year initiative for 2022/2023.
She is currently partnered with Cardinal Trio Pictures for her feature ATOLL, and has several other features in development, including COCALOOSA - which is a 2nd rounder in the Sundance Producer's Lab with her producing partner, Jay De La Jara.
________________________________
A few of her favorite films: Jurassic Park, Apollo 13, Back to the Future, Home Alone, Argo, Ghostbusters, Lethal Weapon, Hidden Figures
________________________________
My experiences with everyone from villain to hero really ignited my passion for storytelling as a director and writer of genre-blended and suspense thriller films with bold and atmospheric visuals and a future goal of blockbusters with iconic characters.
I have a keen sense for visual style and an ability to draw strong performances from talent with my acting background. I approach each project with a love of movement, color, and composition, accompanied by my vivid imagination, and I like to highlight the fantastical we have inside of us. Over the past few years, I've been fortunate enough to work with more experienced collaborators, and direct sizable sets with increasingly complicated action and set pieces in the short form, and am eager to move into the feature realm.
I hope to be able to give back to others emerging after me, am a fierce advocate of inclusivity, and actively volunteer with the organizations I am involved with. Above all, people matter most, and we could all use a little more love in the world.
