Catalyst Storieroad

E71 - Indie Panel: Writers’ Room Practices

We’re jamming with Jackie Decembly & Christina Pumariega on how a writers’ room actually works & how one climbs the ladder.
 
Born & raised in the Midwest, Jackie Decembly graduated from The Ohio State University & attended the University of Cincinnati for graduate school. After several years as a Spanish teacher, she left teaching to pursue a career as a TV writer. Now an LA based 1hr dramedy/drama writer, Jackie’s writing focuses primarily on female-driven stories that explore complicated family dynamics, female friendship & the idea of being a fish out of water. Her Blackish TV spec “Downsizing” was a semifinalist for The Breakk Screenwriting Competition. She has worked as a set production assistant, a line producer’s assistant & writers’ production assistant. She was a writers’ assistant on Netflix's Ginny & Georgia, and a staff writer on Disney +’s upcoming show Turner & Hooch. Jackie is currently a story editor on the CW's upcoming show the 4400.
 
Christina Pumariega acts & writes. Often simultaneously. Her play “Lei Chiede” (“She Questions”), inspired by her Italian-American grandmother’s experience interrogating POW’s in Baltimore Harbor, was commissioned by the Ammunition Theatre Company in LA & developed this summer with New Georges. “Her Math Play” has been developed at Joe’s Pub (Public Theater), and received a virtual performance as part of Hartford Stage’s American Voices New Play Festival in June. Her work has also been seen at the Lark and Ammo’s inaugural Writers’ Lab. Her TV writing credits include Turner & Hooch for Disney+ and Bluff City Law on NBC. Acting on & Off-Broadway, regionally and in TV & film, Pumariega has cross examined Coach Taylor, made out with the Fly & set a Cuban pharmacy ablaze in a corset. She’s an Expert Contributor to BackStage Magazine, and leads the collective Más Páginas, which dares more pages from diverse womxn writers. Born & raised all over the south, her father is Cuban, her mother is Italian-American. MFA, NYU Graduate Acting Program.
 
This program is brought to you by Catalyst Storieroad's partners: the National Academy of TV Arts & Sciences and WDSE-WRPT Duluth, in collaboration with our individual donors.

E70 - Festival Podcast Lounge: We Demand

Nicholas Strange comes by the 2021 Festival Podcast Lounge to chat about the documentary, We Demand. 
 
Logline: We Demand is a powerful and intimate look at the city of Rockford’s struggle to address issues of police brutality and systemic racism during the summer and fall of 2020.

E69 - Indie Panel: Women Of The Sci-Fi Writers’ Room

The Catalyst Storieroad Institute proudly presents "Women of the Sci-Fi Writers' Room". Our guests are: Kristine Huntley, Margot Ye, Erin Maher & Kay Reindl.
 
Topics include:
The female voice
Getting in the room
Career journey and how you navigated the industry
Erin Maher and Kay Reindl are a talented writing team who met during their time as assistants at Universal. Since then, they have gone on to write on a long list of shows such as Swamp Thing, Dead of Summer, Haunted and Freakish on Hulu.
 
Kristine Huntley is a television writer who lives and works in Los Angeles. Her credits include TWO SENTENCE HORROR STORIES (CW), SENTIENT (Netflix), and FREAKISH (Hulu). In addition to television writing, Kristine also reviews books for Booklist Magazine, a pre-publication review journal. Kristine likes to pretend that she's well rounded, but her main interests are reading and writing so those claims may be exaggerated.
 
Margot Ye - A South Florida native and first-generation Chinese-American, Margot studied the craft of storytelling at UCLA’s School of Theater, Film and Television. Supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Margot’s short film OUT OF THE BLUE earned a DGA Student Film Award, LACMA’s Young Director Art of Film Award, and three UCLA Spotlight Awards for Best Narrative, Best Screenplay, and Best Visual Design. Following grad school, Margot got a glimpse of the start-up life while producing content for media-tech companies such as Hulu, Google, Niantic, and Headspace. With enough stories to fill a fake Twitter feed, Margot left the tech sphere to focus on writing for television. Last year, Margot was selected for NBC’s Writers on the Verge fellowship, and she hasn’t looked back.
 
Thank you to the National Academy of TV Arts & Sciences, WDSE-WRPT Duluth, The Wrap, and the WGA-East for supporting Storieroad.

E68 - Festival Podcast Lounge: Theater People - Their Town

Matt Anderson & Stacia Rice join us in the 2021 Festival Podcast Lounge to discuss the comedy, Theater People - Their Town. 
 
Logline: Art and politics collide when big city theater people Elise, Beth and Danilo take over management of a small town playhouse in the conservative Midwest.

E67 - Special Guest: Understanding Chain of Title & Having A Manager with Matthew Valentinas

The Catalyst Storieroad Institute proudly presents "Understanding Chain-of-Title & Having A Manager" with Matthew Valentinas.
 
Matthew Valentinas is an entertainment lawyer, literary manager, and affiliated literary agent who also serves as a producer on several projects. The bulk of his time is spent representing authors, screenwriters and investigative journalists working in the nonfiction genre, especially true crime. Matt also specializes in shopping and packaging unique IP that often comes from life-story rights or exclusive access to current affair topics that may be engaged in trials or investigations. Matt has recently started working more in the podcast arena, in addition to placing book & article rights with networks and studios. He’s a film school graduate with a law degree that has worked on sets and in acquisitions and business affairs with production companies and at a major studio. Matt always endeavors to put his clients in the strongest positions to achieve their creative goals and enjoys the challenges of being on the sell-side of a very competitive industry. While he loved living in LA he’s happy to be back on the East Coast at least three seasons of the year. You can reach Matt on Twitter @MattValentinas. 
 
Thank you to the National Academy of TV Arts & Sciences, WDSE-WRPT Duluth, The Wrap, and the WGA-East for supporting Storieroad.

E66 - Catalyst Spotlight: Sonja O’Hara

Our Catalyst Spotlight on Sonja O'Hara! How did she earn her first option deal at the festival? Tune in and find out!
 
Sonja is an award-winning filmmaker & actress represented by WME & Management 360. She was chosen as one of the “10 Filmmakers To Watch” by Independent Magazine, chosen by a jury from MovieMaker Magazine, the Sundance Institute & Austin Film Festival. (Past recipients include Barry Jenkins, Oscar winning director of MOONLIGHT.) Sonja directed the feature film ROOT LETTER, an adaptation of the popular Japanese video game, written by Tribeca Film Festival Narrative Prize winner David Ebeltoft, which will be released in 2020. She also wrote & directed the critically acclaimed series DOOMSDAY (Amazon) which won BEST SERIES at Catalyst Content Festival. A Streamy Nominee (for “Best Indie Series”), Sonja was presented the “Best Director” award out of 4000 submissions at The New York Television Festival. Her film OVUM won "Best Picture" at The Big Apple Film Festival & was released by The Orchard. Her short film ANATOMY OF AN ORCHID premiered at the Academy Award qualifying HollyShorts Film Festival. Sonja was a guest speaker at SXSW Film Festival on the episodic TV panel. Her upcoming series ASTRAL was greenlit by Adaptive Studios and she will write & direct all six episodes. 
 
This program is brought to you by Catalyst Storieroad's partners: the National Academy of TV Arts & Sciences and WDSE-WRPT Duluth, in collaboration with our individual donors.

E65 - Special Guest: The World Of Color with Jamie Dickinson

THE WORLD OF COLOR with pro colorist & finishing editor, Jamie Dickinson!
 
Jamie has worked in TV and film for over 30 years, starting out at the BBC as an engineer/tech op, colour-balancing studio cameras and telecine, then moving into short-form graphics and promo editing. After more than 20 years at the BBC, he moved into long-form grading and online editing, working on feature films, broadcast drama, and documentary. Jamie moved to the USA for six years, during which time he worked on numerous indie film projects and worked as a trainer, teaching colour grading and DaVinci Resolve to the likes of HBO, NBC, and many others. Having returned to England, he is now a Certified Master Trainer for Blackmagic Design, offering training to other trainers, specializing in colour grading and Fusion. He continues to work as a finishing editor for TV and does vfx, grading and training from his home setup.
 
Why should you budget for a colorist, and how can you best support yours- both in pre-production and on set? When is "we'll fix it in post" NOT the answer?  Tune in to deepen your understanding of these post-production specialties!
 
This program is brought to you by Catalyst Storieroad's partners: the National Academy of TV Arts & Sciences and WDSE-WRPT Duluth, in collaboration with our individual donors.

E64 - Festival Podcast Lounge: The Come Up

Victor Musoni, Ireon Roach, and Justin Burns join us in the 2021 Festival Podcast Lounge to discuss the drama, The Come Up.
 
Logline: An inspiring limited series following three Chicago high schoolers who use slam poetry to navigate the outcomes of a tragic event.

E63 - Special Guest: A New Career Pathway For Storytellers with Dr. Aubrey Paris

Catalyst is excited to strengthen its international presence through a new collaboration with “The Innovation Station: Creative Industry Lab” at the US Department of State.
 
This collaboration will select up to twenty creators to receive its scholarship grants, industry mentorships, and connections to production networks each year. This initiative is scheduled to launch in January 2021 in as many as 20 regional hub cities in the USA & internationally, including Catalyst's home base of Duluth, MN.
 
Creating pathways for new voices and storytellers from all corners of the globe to have their stories shared is at the heart of Catalyst’s mission. For too long, too many artists have felt a lack of connection to our industry, and this collaboration with “The Innovation Station: Creative Industry Lab” is a solution that gives creators opportunities for advancement in the industry.
 
Per Aubrey Paris, a Science, Technology & Innovation Policy Adviser at the State Department:
 
The creative industries represent an empowering and inspiring innovation for the future of U.S. public diplomacy. “The Innovation Station: Creative Industry Lab,” housed in the Office of the Science and Technology Adviser to the Secretary of State, institutionalizes innovation-themed public diplomacy with the creative industries through the pillars of access, community, and exhibition.
 
Catalyst would like to thank the US Department of State’s “Innovation Station,” the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, WDSE-WRPT, the College of St Scholastica, and Blackwoods & Greysolon for their ongoing support.

E62 - Indie Panel: The Style & Art Of Cinematography

Join us for our Indie Panel: The Style & Art Of Cinematography. 
 
Our guests are:
 
ARMANDO SALAS - Cuban American cinematographer Armando Salas is based in Los Angeles and has worked all over the world. He is the recipient of the Jacob K. Javits Fellowship in film and winner of the ASC Robert Surtees Heritage Award for Outstanding Cinematography. His recent credits include the Sundance feature Bitch, Netflix feature The Most Hated Woman in America; the pilot and first season of the David E. Kelley/Stephen King series Mr. Mercedes; the Scott Free series Strange Angel; the pilot and first season of the Macro/Netflix series Raising Dion; and the second and third seasons of the Netflix series Ozark.
 
TOMMY MADDOX-UPSHAW - Cinematographer Tommy Maddox-Upshaw enjoys drawing on inspiration from his own experiences to inform his perspective and his work. Maddox-Upshaw is currently lensing the sixth season of Fox’s hit series Empire for creators Lee Daniels and Danny Strong. He recently wrapped shooting the third season of FX’s Snowfall, chronicling the crack cocaine epidemic in 1980s Los Angeles. Previously, Maddox-Upshaw shot the second season of Netflix’s breakout hit On My Block and the first season of Huge in France, also for Netflix, starring Gad Elmaleh as a successful French comedian who moves to the U.S. and suddenly finds he’s no longer a star. Prior to his run of Netflix shows, he lensed BET’s The Comedy Get Down for director Stan Lathan as well as the first season of Tales for creator Irv Gotti. For features, Maddox shot Kalushi: The Story of Solomon Mahlangu for director Mandla Dube, an official selection at the 2017 Camerimage Festival.
 
Thank you to the National Academy of TV Arts & Sciences, WDSE-WRPT Duluth, The Wrap, and the WGA-East for supporting Storieroad.