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cataclysm.begins: The Catalyst

Queer twins of a deceased political figure become the unwanted face/scapegoat for a rebellion against a government that threatens to take their basic human rights to build their false utopia.Queer twins of a deceased political figure become the unwanted face/scapegoat for a rebellion against a government that threatens to take their basic human rights to build their false utopia.

  • katherine filaseta
    Director
  • Sarah Beim
    Writer
    cataclysm.begins
  • Maria Palacio
    Producer
  • Ami Sheth
    Key Cast
    "Helena Knightengale"
    Blindspot
  • Aria Martinez
    Key Cast
    "Catalina Maevery"
  • Amiere A. Bell
    Key Cast
    "Xavien Maevery"
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Sci-Fi, Dystopian, LGBTQIA+, Thriller, Proof of Concept
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2.35
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - katherine filaseta

katherine filaseta (she/her) is a queer female filmmaker based in NYC. While most of her work has been as an assistant director, when she is in the director's chair herself, katherine enjoys exploring the way every different type of art combines via film to tell stories - especially stories from marginalized points of view.
Other than directing, katherine also works regularly as an Assistant Director, where she uses her scheduling and leadership skills to help underrepresented creators of varying backgrounds tell their own stories.

Outside of film, katherine spends her time reading, tweeting about being bisexual (@kay_fil), dancing to Bollywood music, and snuggling her adorable asexual homoromantic bunny @kajalthebun

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Director Statement

Growing up with younger siblings and spending a few years after college teaching, young adult fiction has always been an important part of my life, where I’ve been able to see its effects manifesting in real time. I truly believe that the media we consume when we are younger shapes our perceptions of ourselves and helps us figure out our role in society. I love cataclysm.begins because it brings a perspective to the dystopian genre that we haven’t seen before—queer kids, specifically, trying to find that place in a rapidly changing world that is exaggerated, of course, but also not much different from our own. As someone who didn’t even realize her queerness until her mid-20s (watching the amazing documentary Girl on Girl by Jodi Savitz)—a full decade after first developing a huge crush on Selena Gomez in Wizards of Waverly Place—it’s so important to me to give younger generations a place to own their queerness earlier than I was able to own mine. I’m very excited to bring the sibling dynamic of my own teenage years authentically into the relationship of Catalina and Xavien, as well, because I think authentic sibling relationships are also underrepresented. It will be refreshing to see the love between these two differently queer siblings as they struggle for control of the narrative—my way of showing a struggle for parents’ attention through the same fight for the audience’s attention. And, of course, none of this is only for teens; through the diversity of the story Sarah has written, I think adults of all ages, too, will find a bit of themselves represented in the characters of cataclysm.begins in a way they haven’t gotten to see themselves before.