Catherine Rierson

Catherine Rierson is an award-winning producer and filmmaker based in the South. With a strong journalistic background, her work, often observational and lyrical in approach, examines the relationship between identity and sense of place. Catherine is currently working with Markay Media on the PBS show, "Somewhere South" with Vivian Howard, and on a hybrid docuseries, now in postproduction. Most recently, Catherine produced "Mossville: When Great Trees Fall," a documentary about one Louisiana man’s stand against the petrochemical industry, which won the Human Rights Award at the 2019 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, Truth in Nonfiction Filmmaking Award at Montclair Film Festival, Best in Show at BendFilm, and many other awards. Catherine also story produced and co-produced "40 Days and 40 Nights" (2021) – an IFP Forum-participating film sponsored by JustFilms and the Bertha Foundation – about poverty and the people fighting to end it, as well as produced two recently-released narrative shorts, "Stella for Star" (2019) and "Quiet and Clear" (2019). Prior to this, Catherine worked as a fixer, researcher, and field producer for the "Cajun Mardi Gras” episode of Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown. She also produced the Guggenheim Foundation-grantee documentary, "Sick to Death" (2017); the narrative short, "The Executioner" (2015); and the award-winning documentary, "Big Charity" (2015), among other films and branded content projects.