Catharine Axley

Education

MFA, Stanford University (Documentary Film and Video)

BA, Yale University (History and Ethnicity, Race & Migration)

 

Awards, Screenings & Grants

PBS’ Independent Lens National Broadcast, 2019 (ATTLA)

American Film Showcase selection, 2020 (ATTLA)

Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian, 2020 (ATTLA)

Best Documentary, 44th Annual American Indian Film Festival, 2019 (ATTLA)

Best Indigenous Feature, BendFilm Festival, 2019 (ATTLA)

Alaska Federation of Natives, 2019 (ATTLA)

BANFF Mountain Film and Book Festival, 2019 (ATTLA)

Alaska Public Media Screenings, Anchorage, Bethel, Juneau, 2019 (ATTLA)

Anchorage Museum, 2019 (ATTLA)

Anchorage International Film Festival, 2019 (ATTLA)

Heartland International Film Festival, 2019 (ATTLA)

Kentucky Center, The Louisville Orchestra, 2019 (The Way Forth)

The Witching Hour, Iowa City, 2019 (The Way Forth)

Big Ears Festival, 2019 (The Way Forth)

ITVS Co-Production Grant, 2016 (ATTLA)
Vision Maker Media Co-Production Grant, 2016 (ATTLA)

FilmHouse Resident, San Francisco Film Society, 2015-2017 (ATTLA)

Best Documentary Short Director, Tulsa American Film Festival, 2016 (In Attla’s Tracks)

Golden Gate Award, San Francisco International Film Festival, 2016 (In Attla’s Tracks)

Nominee, David L. Wolper Student Award, International Documentary Association, 2015 (In Attla’s Tracks) 

Smithsonian Native Cinema Showcase, 2016 (In Attla’s Tracks) 

Enersen Foundation Grant, 2015 (In Attla’s Tracks)

Caucus Foundation Grant, 2015 (In Attla’s Tracks)

Regional Finalist, Documentary for Student Academy Awards, 2014 (Counting the Dead) 

Editor’s Pick, The Atlantic, Spring 2016 (Counting the Dead)

Editor’s Pick, The Atlantic, Fall 2015 (Balancing Act) 

DOC NYC, New York, NY, 2014 (Counting the Dead) 

Mill Valley Film Festival, 2014 (Counting the Dead)

United Nations Association Film Festival, 2014 (Counting the Dead)

International Film Festival of the Cinematic Arts, Los Angeles, 2014 (Counting the Dead) 

BendFilm Festival, 2014 (Counting the Dead)

Real to Reel International Film Festival, 2014 (Counting the Dead)

Bay Area Student Film Festival, Pacific Film Archive, Berkeley, CA, 2014 (Counting the Dead) 

Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, 2015 (Counting the Dead)

Sebastopol Documentary Film Festival, 2015 (Counting the Dead & In Port) 

Black Maria Film Festival, 2015 (Counting the Dead & In Port) 

NewFilmmakers New York, 2014 (In Port)

San Francisco Black Film Festival, 2014 (Balancing Act) 

Harlem International Film Festival, 2014 (Balancing Act)

Diane C. Christensen Fellowship, 2013-2015 (Stanford Tuition support)

 

 

Selected Publications:
Original Documentary Films
(Unless otherwise noted, I am credited as the director, producer, cinematographer, and editor for each of these projects)
 
Attla, 60 minutes, digital (2019)
Spanning his fifty-year dogsled racing career, ATTLA explores the life and persona of George Attla, from his childhood as a TB survivor in the remote Alaskan interior, to his rise as a ten-time world champion and mythical state hero, to a village elder resolutely training his grandnephew to run his dog team one last time.
 
The Way Forth, 65 minutes, digital (2019): Cinematographer and Editor
Inspired by a treasure trove of family photos, documents, and letters, The Way Forth is a folk opera
and film that weaves through voices of generations of Kentucky women from 1775 to today. Directed + composed by Rachel Grimes and to premiere with the Louisville Symphony Orchestra in 2019.
 
In Attla’s Tracks, 23 minutes, digital (June 2015)
An aging Alaska Native dogsled champion trains his grand-nephew to carry on a century-old village tradition and compete in the world’s largest dogsled sprint race.
 
In Port, 11 minutes, digital (June 2014)
With a few hours leave from their container ships, seafarers from around the world reflect on their lives away from home.
 
Balancing Act, 9 minutes, digital (March 2014): Co-director
A portrait of an Oakland-based circus performer who tries to find his place historically, professionally, and personally.
 
Counting the Dead, 7 minutes, 16mm b&w (December 2013)
A former city librarian makes it her fifty year-long mission to account for those who died in the
1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Fire.
 
Morgenthau, 107 minutes, digital (2014): Line Producer, Associate Producer, Assistant Editor
There is a family dynasty that has played a vital role in the most dramatic social and political moments of the twentieth century, yet they are not a household name. Drawing from over 70 interviews with noted historians, journalists, politicians, and the Morgenthau family and friends, MORGENTHAU tells the story of three men and their battles in the service of justice for all.