Catalina

As a militarized force hunting AI fraud closes in, a desperate son races to save his dying mother by transferring her consciousness into an illegal android named Catalina.

  • Martin Russell Johnson
    Director
    Bully, Parallel, Vigil, Jaded Love
  • Martin Russell Johnson
    Writer
    Jaded Love
  • Martin Russell Johnson
    Producer
    Bully, Parallel, Vigil, Jaded Love
  • David Mahmoudieh
    Producer
    Superman & Lois, Bully
  • Rippin Sindher
    Producer
    Flight 182
  • Dempsey Pappion
    Key Cast
    "Daniel"
    La La Land, The Proud Family
  • Sheila Cutchlow
    Key Cast
    "Catalina, Mom"
    The Wire, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
  • Eddie Blackwell Williams
    Key Cast
    "Sebastian"
    Bel-Air, The Orville
  • Kouth Wiel
    Key Cast
    "Faheemah"
    Abbot Elementary, The Good Lie
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Sci-fi, Thriller, drama
  • Runtime:
    30 minutes 59 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    March 25, 2026
  • Production Budget:
    75,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2.39
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Martin Russell Johnson

Martin Russell Johnson is a filmmaker committed to socially conscious storytelling that amplifies the voices of underserved communities. Inspired by science-fiction, his work blends culture, technology, and futurism to imagine new possibilities and connect audiences across diverse experiences.

At 18, Johnson wrote, directed, and produced Jaded Love, a short about a Vietnamese-American girl navigating two cultures, which premiered at the San Diego Asian Film Festival.

His creative growth continued as he collaborated with the Golden Globes Foundation, the Directors Guild of America, and the NAACP Hollywood Bureau, gaining valuable insight from television and feature directors that sharpened his own artistic voice and commitment to representation.

As Executive Producer for a filmmaking nonprofit, Johnson developed and produced 18 shorts written by system-impacted artists that explored themes of trauma, resilience, and healing. These projects drew the participation of talent such as Terry Crews and Ringo Starr, and reinforced his mission to merge cinematic excellence with social impact. Beyond this work, Johnson has directed campaigns for Amazon UK, and produced online news segments that reached millions, helping to shift public perceptions around unhoused communities while influencing policy change.

In 2024, Johnson won the inaugural Storytelling With Care competition sponsored by Participant Media, Caring Across Generations, and the National Domestic Workers Alliance. The award granted him the opportunity to direct Catalina, an Afrofuturist short film that he wrote set to premiere on the 2026 festival circuit, continuing his mission to create bold, socially resonant cinema that sparks empathy and elevates underrepresented voices.

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Director Statement

I grew up in a community defined by poverty and trauma, where too many of my peers never made it out. For me, cinema was more than entertainment. It was survival. Movies gave me permission to imagine a life beyond my circumstances, and I promised myself that if I ever had the chance to make films, I would reimagine futures for communities like mine by creating stories that portrayed marginalized individuals with dignity and complexity. Because the way underrepresented people are portrayed on screen shapes how they are treated in real life, my purpose as a filmmaker is to create stories that shift perception and spark the empathy needed to challenge harmful stereotypes.