Catherine Herrera is an experienced media maker, exhibited artist, with films screened in the U.S. and Mexico. Photography a first love, Catherine worked at the U.S.C. campus newspaper as a photographer and caught the bug to be on the scene for breaking news after covering the 1987 L.A. earthquake. Portfolio in hand, Catherine began working as a photojournalist while living in Mexico. Over seven years, Catherine Herrera worked to become a better storyteller and to better understand the stories of Mexico. As a person growing up in California, Mexico was a prominent fixture in the community psyche, and definitely, her family’s history. While living in Mexico, Catherine’s artistic work focused on better understanding her multicultural experience, which informed her photography and films.

After the successful completion of Alphabet People Catherine made in 1992 while living on the U.S.-Mexico border for a year, she began creating media projects that broadened her ability to tell the stories that spoke to her experience and reflected her community. After completing a Fulbright Fellowship in Mexico, Catherine began working in news and documentary production, gaining experience as a producer. On the whole, her work experience strengthened her ability to:

Originate concept, produce, and direct execution creative media projects by cultivating contacts, initiate community engagement, pre-interview and select final interviewees, identify interesting stories, research, analyze and evaluate information, gather team of professionals, supporters, and contributors, research, write and refine proposals, scripts and stories, create and edit narration, navigating a variety of environments to ascertain story, contacts, and research needed, find locations, travel and working internationally, proficient in English and Spanish, experienced interpreter and translator.

Past  Media  Project Clients: Public Broadcast Service, Newsweek, Canadian Broadcast Company, New York Post, Mexico Business

2007 Films

Witness the Healing

Short 22 minute video that explores the impact of early California policy towards Native Americans on one family today. Screened as part of the Internal Exile Exhibit at SOMARTS in November 2007. 

The Healing Pole Project (In development)

Shot in Northern California, this film follows the story of two communities that come together over a healing pole dredged up from the Port Chicago disaster from WWII. The project brings together the Bayview Hunter’s Point community of San Francisco and the larger Bay Area Ohlone community to share their healing processes of recovering from cultural trauma of the past and present.

The Maize Project (In development)

A multimedia production devoted to exploring the evolution of one of the world’s most important grains to better understand the challenges facing the crop today. This project incorporates an innovative approach to incorporating new technology to boost educational impact that will bring together urban and rural children to share about agriculture.

2006 Films

Transition

        Post production, outreach, fundraising and prerelease screenings in major

        venues in the U.S. January through December, 2006. Screenings of film for

        audience feedback and community input for developing distribution strategy in

        San Francisco, San Antonio, Tx. and San Jose, CA. National Association of

        Latino Art and Culture, National Conference,  invited guest to screen pre-

        release of Transition.

Illusion: Interactive Video Installation created for the Maize Project

Interactive Installation visually representing a space in which audience members ‘voiced’ their feelings about the future of maize/corn, creating drawn, sketched and written dedications to their experience with maize and their wishes for its future.

Mission Cultural Center , Solo Mujeres Exhibit

Invited artist. Video installation. Mother’s Nature of Creating

This short video explores nature’s natural cycle of birth and death and how parenthood impacts our view of life’s journey.

2005 Films

Associate Producer

Beyond the Dream: California and the Rediscovery of America - Associate Producer for Program 3, Ripe for Change, one of a four part documentary series on California. Conducted all Spanish interviews, research, production activities. Scheduled for National PBS release in Fall of 2005.

2004 Films

Director, Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center, CineFestival

Developed a special Immigration focus film festival to examine the history of films produced by Latino filmmakers over time on the topic that would soon spark great

division in the country. Initiated first Native American category that brought support from the Native American Public Television. Special panel discussions with guest filmmakers.

Bay Area Video Coalition

6 month Production and Post Production Training Program

2003-1993 Films

Director, Trailer for From the Same Family: An Intimate Look at Globalization

This lyrical, folkloric experimental narrative explores multiculturalism in our current age of globalization by sharing the autobiographical story of one woman who moves to Mexico City to trace her family’s roots only to uncover a family secret that ultimately provides her answer, but profoundly changes her view of the world and the future. Exhibited at the International Latino Film Festival at the Castro Theater.

Director

Alphabet People A 23 minute documentary about a community of women in El Paso, Texas who met daily in front of the county jail, where they “signed” with their own brand of sign language to their husbands behind barred windows. 

Awards - Runner up at the 1995 Documentary Film and Video Festival. Exhibited at the San Antonio Guadalupe Film and Video Festival (1995), San Diego Student Film and Video Festival (1994), and Cine Accion Festival, San Francisco (1993). A copy of “Alphabet People” is held in the Chicano Studies Department of the University of Wisconsin.

Director

Mother’s Nature of Creation, a short video exploring motherhood, and the passing from one generation to the next  by examining the details in a Sunday afternoon.

From the Same Family – a 10 minute short exploring the notion of belonging and family.

MACLA, San Jose, Biennial 2005

From the Same Family – a 10-minute short exploring the notion of belonging and family.

Additional

Fluent in Written and Spoken Spanish. Experienced interpreter on film productions, experienced translator of interviews and transcripts.