Catharine Axley

Catharine Axley is an independent documentary filmmaker and educator. Her most recent film is "ATTLA," a feature documentary co-produced by ITVS and Vision Maker Media, that aired nationally in 2019 as part of PBS' Independent Lens series. "ATTLA" is a selectee of the 2020-2021 American Film Showcase program through the U.S. Department of State, and was awarded Best Documentary Feature at the 44th American Indian Film Festival and Best Indigenous Film at the 2019 BendFilm Festival, among others.

Her films have played at festivals, including the San Francisco International Film Festival, DOC NYC, Heartland International Film Festival, Harlem International Film Festival, Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival World Tour, and the United Nations Association Film Festival.

Prior to joining Penn State, she taught as a Filmmaker-in-Residence at the University of Kentucky and joined Spelman College for a semester to design and teach a documentary editing course. With support from ITVS, she is currently in production on a feature documentary exploring cruise tourism for which she is a 2021 Fall Logan Nonfiction Fellow.

• ATTLA on PBS' Independent Lens

• ‘Big ideas’ and teaching drive faculty member’s passion for filmmaking
• Bellisario College honors faculty and staff for consistent excellence
• Collegial, passionate faculty members drive Centre Film Festival