Cirina Catania, CEO, Catania Studios and Co-Founder, Sundance Film Festival
CIRINA CATANIA, Writer, Director, Photo Journalist – Basically, a Creative Person
Cirina Catania is Writer, Director, Photo Journalist, and former marketing executive with a long history of success in both the major studio and independent film environment. She is one of the co-founders and former director of the Sundance Film Festival.
Cirina Catania is a veteran writer/director with credits in scripted and non-scripted as well as documentary. She has created everything from feature-length films to television series to ground-breaking music videos. She produces a weekly one-hour live internet radio show focused on the technology that drives creativity, the Digital Production BuZZ
Catania has chased lightning in the Southwestern United States and written about Orphan Elephants for National Geographic, covered Danny Glover in South Africa during his travels for the UN Goodwill Ambassador Programme, shot avalanche control training footage for the National Ski Patrol, written and directed 48 popular webisodes for Chivas Regal and MSN; post supervised the “Mi3 Collector’s Edition DVD” (for which she one a Satellite Award for Best DVD of 2006). She has directed and shot reality TV series such as “Untold Stories from the ER;” “Southern Steel;” “Worst Case Scenario;” and “Merge.”
Cirina is the host of the newly created show, “Conversations,” where she is doing something she loves…talking to interesting, smart and informative people! Meet some of them here and check it out.
She loves creating biographies of interesting people like Danny Glover, Ang Lee, Morgan Freeman, John Singleton, John Wells, Chaz Johnson, etc. You can see a few on her Vimeo channel.
Cirina is an active member of such groups as the Producers Guild of America, the Writers Guild of America-West, the Publicists Guild, the National Ski Patrol and IATSE. In the very distant past Catania was a successful studio executive, (8 years at MGM/UA in the worldwide theatrical division as VP Worldwide Marketing). Catania won an Inky Award in 2009 for “Fab Freelancer.”
She is currently finishing a full-length documentary, recording her own podcasts and preparing for a trip to India where she hopes to be able to chronicle a Tiger conservation project!
Cirina devotes much of her time to charitable organizations specializing in global human rights and was one of the official filmographers for the UNDP Goodwill Ambassador Program (documenting the contributions of Danny Glover and Dkembe Matumbo). She has worked with such organizations as Furnishing Hope (for wounded returning warriors), the Free Wheelchair Mission, Amnesty International, the Global Health Network, Save the Children, Global Mothers and Children’s Aid International and the Producers Guild of America Diversity Committee.
Cirina has produced and directed numerous marketing campaigns in various capacities for over 100 major motion-pictures and mini-series including, “Rainman,” “Tombstone,” “Stargate,” “Yentl,” “The Arrival,” “Les Miserables,” “Rocky IV,” four James Bond films beginning with “A View to a Kill,” “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventures,” “Poltergeist III,” “2010,” “Hamlet,” and “Total Recall.”
During her tenure as Vice President of Worldwide Marketing and Chief Operating Officer of the Theatrical Motion Picture Division of United Artists Pictures, Cirina was responsible for the management of an average yearly operating budget of $200 million. Departments under her supervision included, Strategic Planning, Creative Advertising, Licensing/Promotions, Publicity, Research, Music/Soundtrack Marketing and Budgetary/Administrative.
For the ten years prior to her move to California, she resided in Salt Lake City, Utah where she was one of the co-founders of the Sundance Film Festival, Associate Director of the State Film Commission reporting to the Governor and head of the J.F. Images Talent Agency.
She can be reached at news@catania.us and welcomes inquiries from potential clients and other filmmakers open to networking opportunities.
This photo of Carsten Peter, a National Geographic Photographer, was shot for National Geographic by Cirina Catania :0) that’s a mouthful!