Katalina Gutierrez

      At age fifteen, when my father presented me with a used SLR camera, I quickly realized that life’s fugitive existence could be preserved by light with the click of a shutter. With that camera in my hands, I set out on a new path—to appropriate a creative language and influence my environment through poetic meaning. I was able to recognize closely, my father’s concern for social justice, and more importantly, became part of his curiosity towards cinema and its sociological imagination. 

      I studied Sociology and Fine Arts at the University of Costa Rica.  Even though the program was academically rigorous, I only had access to classical paintings and master photography via library books. I longed to experience Rembrandt, Stieglitz, and Arbus directly and I committed myself to traveling beyond my city of San Jose to see these masterworks in person.

      During my stay in Mexico City, at age of 21,  I worked as a novice cameraperson alongside an American theater director. I became fascinated with the use of multimedia for storytelling purposes. Subsequently, I sought to further understand how multidisciplinary arts are formed. In 2005, after moving to New York City, I began directing and continued to collaborate with dancers, artists and musicians. At the same time, I exhibited my own paintings and developed animated installations that incorporated my artistic practice onto film.

      Directing allowed me to access my own voice and visual language. Kirsten Johnson’s documentary Cameraperson reflects powerfully on these transitions that blur the boundaries between director and cinematographer. Filmmaking allows me to travel through time and across cultural barriers, to embrace everyone equally. This political stance fired up my interest in reflexive forms of cinema and inspired me to go back to school and study Film and Media.

      My interests are deeply connected to social justice and mindfulness practices. In recent years, I have been working as a cinematographer and artist teacher at ReelWorks studios. I also developed freelance projects for nonprofit organizations. In the summer of 2013, I collaborated with the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, filming a promo video to raise funds for their youth programs. In 2014, I directed and shot a series of videos for Bank Street bookstore to promote literacy. 

      In 2014, while studying at the CUNY BA, I developed my own major and called it ‘Women in Film and Media.’ Then, I started work on two shorts, Aurora’s Requiem, followed by Second Light. The latter project evolved into a film, Ophelia, where I honed my skills as a producer, director and cinematographer for the next three years. During the last two years, I have been working on Phantasmagoric Traveler, a documentary about New York visual artist Ruth Marten. At the same time, I started writing about the representation of women in the media on my blog, KatalinaStudio.tumblr.com. There I discuss issues related to gender dynamics in media and the role of independent film festivals in supporting women filmmakers.