Katherine Propper
{{Short description|American film director and screenwriter (born 1993)}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Katherine Propper
| birth_name = Katherine Amy Propper
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1993|04|22}}
| birth_place = Los Angeles, California, U.S.
| education = University of Texas at Austin (MFA)
| alma_mater = Georgetown University
| occupation = {{hlist|Film director|screenwriter|producer|editor}}
| years_active = 2013–present
| relatives = Eduardo Propper de Callejón (great-grandfather)
| website =
}}
Katherine Amy Propper (born April 22, 1993{{Cite web |title=Katherine Amy Propper, Born 04/22/1993 in California {{!}} CaliforniaBirthIndex.org |url=https://californiabirthindex.org/birth/katherine_amy_propper_born_1993_22455084 |access-date=2025-04-07 |website=California Birth Index}}) is an American film director and screenwriter.{{Cite web |last=Hall |first=Michael |date=2023-02-08 |title=This Twentysomething Texan Is Already an Award-Winning Film Director |url=https://www.texasmonthly.com/arts-entertainment/katherine-propper-film-lost-soulz/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230209195504/https://www.texasmonthly.com/arts-entertainment/katherine-propper-film-lost-soulz/ |archive-date=February 9, 2023 |access-date=2024-11-15 |website=Texas Monthly |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Katherine Propper - El Paso Film Festival |url=https://elpasofilmfestival.org/festival/2023/special-guests/katherine-propper |website=El Paso Film Festival}} She is known for her feature directorial debut film Lost Soulz (2023) and short films.{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2024-05-14 |title=Trevor sits down with Director Katherine Propper and Sauve Sidle of 'Lost Soulz' |url=https://cbsaustin.com/features/we-are-austin/trevor-sits-down-with-director-katherine-propper-and-sauve-sidle-of-lost-soulz |access-date=2024-11-15 |website=KEYE-TV |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Zilko |first=Christian |date=2024-05-02 |title='Lost Soulz' Review: A Rap Prodigy Ponders the Costs of Fame in a Sensitive, Cliched Coming-of-Age Story |url=https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/movies/lost-soulz-review-1234999375/ |access-date=2024-11-15 |website=IndieWire |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Whittaker |first=Richard |title=Exclusive: Watch This Clip From Austin-Made Rap Road Trip Lost Soulz |url=https://www.austinchronicle.com/daily/screens/2024-05-08/exclusive-watch-this-clip-from-austin-made-rap-road-trip-lost-soulz/ |access-date=2024-11-15 |website=The Austin Chronicle |language=en-US}}
Early life and education
Propper was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. Her mother is from Korea and her father, of European descent, is from New York. On her father's side, she is a great-granddaughter of Eduardo Propper de Callejon, a Spanish diplomat and a Righteous Among the Nations, and a cousin of British actress Helena Bonham Carter.
Propper attended Georgetown University, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Art History and a minor in Film & Media Studies.{{Cite web |title=Past Awardees |url=https://art.georgetown.edu/student-awards/dailey-awards/past-awardees/ |access-date=2025-04-24 |website=Department of Art and Art History |language=en}} In school while attending one of the university’s Ignatian Silent Retreats and practicing the spiritual exercises, she felt she was being called to the arts.
In 2016, she moved to Austin, Texas to attend the University of Texas at Austin where she received her MFA degree in Film directing. She wrote and directed her student short film Street Flame. The film follows a group of friends in Austin's skate and graffiti scene as they commemorate the life of their dead friend.{{Cite web |title=Street Flame {{!}} 2019 Tribeca Festival |url=https://tribecafilm.com/films/street-flame-2019 |access-date=2025-04-24 |website=Tribeca}} Street Flame screened at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2019 and won several awards at film festivals.{{Cite web |date=2024-10-09 |title=The 25 Coolest Film Festivals 2024 Panel of Cool |url=https://www.moviemaker.com/coolest-film-festivals-2024-panel-of-cool/ |access-date=2025-04-24 |website=www.moviemaker.com |language=en-US}}
Career
After completing her studies, she worked in Austin for American director Terrence Malick on the editing team of his long-gestating religious epic.{{Cite web |last=Clark |first=Jason |date=2023-07-01 |title=ShortList 2023: 'Birds' Recalls the Laid-Back Texan Natures of Richard Linklater and Terrence Malick |url=https://www.thewrap.com/birds-katherine-propper-austin-teenagers-shortlist-2023/ |access-date=2025-04-24 |website=TheWrap |language=en-US}} Propper moved to Texas inspired by the independent, free spirit of Austin-based filmmakers like Malick, Richard Linklater, Jeff Nichols, and Robert Rodriguez.{{Cite journal |last=Pahl |first=Bianca |date=November 2024 |title=The Road Less Traveled to Tribeca |url=https://www.sidecarjunkaroo.com/ |journal=Sidecar Junkaroo Magazine |issue=12 |pages=13 and 14}}
The Austin Film Society supported her short film Birds, featuring intercut vignettes of Texas youths finding beauty on a summer day.{{Cite web |title=Austin Film Society Announces Recipients of the 2019 AFS Grant for Short Films |url=https://www.austinfilm.org/press/austin-film-society-announces-recipients-of-the-2019-afs-grant-for-short-films/ |access-date=2025-04-24 |website=Austin Film Society |language=en}} Birds won awards at Clermont-Ferrand in France and at South by Southwest in 2022, where it won Special Jury Recognition for Vision.{{Cite web |last=Roberts |first=Jordan |date=2022-03-15 |title=SXSW Film Festival Announces 2022 Jury and Special Awards |url=https://www.sxsw.com/film/2022/sxsw-film-festival-announces-2022-jury-and-special-awards/ |access-date=2025-04-24 |website=SXSW |language=en-US}} The New Yorker distributed Birds as part of its Screening Room series. TheWrap selected Birds in its 2023 shortlist of the best short films.
Propper's directorial feature-film debut Lost Soulz premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2023.{{Cite web |title=Lost Soulz {{!}} 2023 Tribeca Festival |url=https://tribecafilm.com/films/lost-soulz-2023 |access-date=2025-04-24 |website=Tribeca}} Lost Soulz is a coming-of-age movie about a young rapper whose dream comes true when he joins a music group on an odyssey headed West through Texas and instead finds himself on a spiritual journey home. The film was released by distributor Kino Lorber in the U.S. and Canada in May 2024.{{Cite web |title=Lost Soulz |url=https://bypass.kinolorber.com/film/lost-soulz |access-date=2025-04-24 |website=Kino Lorber |language=en}}
Filmography
= Feature films =
| class="wikitable"
|+ !Year !Title !Director !Writer !Producer !Notes !Refs |
| 2023
|{{Yes}} |{{Yes}} |{{Yes|Co-producer}} | |{{Cite web |last=Rice |first=Laura |date=May 10, 2024 |title=Colorful and wandering, the film 'Lost Soulz' showcases Texas and Gen Z talent |url=https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/lost-soulz-movie-texas-katherine-propper-sauve-sidle/ |access-date=2024-11-15 |website=Texas Standard |language=en-US}} |
= Short films =
Awards and nominations
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{Official website|https://www.katherine-propper.com/}}
- {{IMDb name|id=nm7487861}}
- {{Rotten Tomatoes person|id=katherine_propper}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Propper, Katherine}}
Category:Film directors from California
Category:Film producers from California
Category:Screenwriters from California
Category:Writers from Burbank, California
Category:21st-century American screenwriters
Category:21st-century American women writers
Category:University of Texas at Austin alumni