Photo: Kevin Konnyu

Catherine plans and delivers award-winning films and communications initiatives, creating and amplifying messages that inspire action. During two decades in communications and filmmaking she has led high-functioning multi-disciplinary teams of 30+ and managed budgets in excess of $5 million. Her clients and colleagues describe her as a motivating leader who provides inspired oversight to strategy and execution.

 

Catherine’s communications work draws on her global experience and her leadership roles in the cultural sector. Her filmmaking work led to her attendance at the 2000 World Economic Forum, which influenced her subsequent career path. Since then, she has helped a variety of organizations in the arts, urban planning, education, and philanthropic sectors, including Jörgen Dance, George Brown College, the Metcalf Foundation, the Strategic Regional Research Alliance, and Medicine Hat College.

As a freelance producer, film director, and writer across a wide range of programs and genres, Catherine has led productions around the world and earned more than a dozen awards and nominations. She has overseen budgets of $5 million and teams of up to 50 personnel, often raising money to bring projects to fruition. Variety magazine called Catherine one of Canada’s most talented directors.

Her debut feature film Just Watch Me: Trudeau and the 70s Generation (NFB, 1999) explored Pierre Trudeau’s vision for a bilingual nation through the voices of eight 30-somethings from across Canada. The documentary won multiple awards, including the Best Canadian First Feature Award at the Toronto International Film Festival, and a Genie for Best Feature Length Documentary. Her other documentary films garnered numerous national and international awards including a Gracie Allen Award and have been broadcast on HBO, Channel 4, CBC, Radio Canada, Discovery Canada, and TVOntario.

Catherine’s writing has been featured in The Globe and Mail, as well as in best-selling books and in projects as diverse as museum exhibition catalogues. She holds a M.A. in history from McGill University, and has published in many academic journals and anthologies of Canadian history. Catherine has given talks at several universities, and recently joined Massey College at the University of Toronto as a member of the Quadrangle Society.

Awards

Catherine has received a number of awards for her work in television and on documentary films, including:

  • Canadian Screen Award, Best Feature Length Documentary
  • Best Canadian First Feature, Toronto International Film Festival
  • Chris Award, Columbus International Film & Video Festival
  • Gracie Allen Award for Outstanding Investigative Program (USA)
  • 5 Canadian Screen Award Nominations
  • Toronto Heritage Award of Excellence
  • Bronze Plaque, Columbus International Film & Video Festival
  • Silver Medal, Houston International Film Festival
  • Silver Apple, National Educational Media Network Awards
  • Best Ontario Film, Cinefest
  • Best Feature Length Doc, Blockbuster People’s Choice Awards