we write.
we direct.
we produce.
Our Team
Chrissie de guzman
Writer. Director. Producer.
Co-Foundercate fogarty
Writer. Director. Producer.
Co-FounderRui xu
Executive Producer
Cate fogarty, co-founder
writer. director. Producer.
As a filmmaker, Cate Fogarty is focused on female-driven stories that entertain and erode stereotypes. She pushes for characters to have depth and layers that feel true to life and are relatable, in all the not-so-picture-perfect ways that we all need to see more of on screen. Her films have played at renowned festivals like L.A. Shorts, Holly Shorts, and the Female Eye Film Festival in Toronto and cover bold topics like STI shame, mourning a complicated parent, and domestic labor inequality all while finding the innate humor in each situation. Her strong story instincts and deeply collaborative style make her a dream for actors, while her clarity of vision and strong leadership skills build a foundation of trust and respect with the crew.
She has spent the last two years falling in love with the mini drama model and has worked on over a dozen vertical series as a writer and a script supervisor in L.A., Vancouver, and Zhengzhou, China for companies like ReelShorts, ByteDance, and Narval Films.
When not making films Cate loves travelling, sailing, watching stand-up, and hanging out with her husband and two cats.
Chrissie de guzman, co-founder
writer. director. producer.
Chrissie De Guzman is a writer, director and executive producer for various micro-dramas across global platforms such as DramaShorts, ReelShort, GoodShort, Stardust TV, Kalos TV and MiniShort.
Prior to her career in micro-dramas, Chrissie got her start with her short film Throuple that has been the official selection at the Palm Springs International Shortfest, Outfest, American Cinematheque Local Shorts, NewFest New York and Short of the Week. She was also a fellow of the ViacomCBS ViewFinder: Emerging Directors Program and a CAPE New Writers fellow where she was a finalist for The CAPE List x The Black List. She was also a shadow director on Showtime’s Flatbush Misdemeanors, where she worked alongside John Lee ( Broad City, Search Party) and Comedy Central’s Awkwafina is Nora From Queens with Laura Murphy (Cursed Friends, Murderville).
Chrissie resides in Los Angeles with her family and enjoys being a member of Filipinx in Hollywood Entertainment, Women in Cinematic Arts USC Alumni Group, San Diego Filipino Cinema and FilAM Creative. She is a USC Cinematic Arts alumni with a MFA in Production in Film and Television.
rui xu, executive producer
Rui Xu is an LA-based independent producer in film and theater, and certified PMP® (Project Management Professional), championing bold, underrepresented voices and sparking global collaboration through storytelling and artmaking.
With a background in music engineering and sound design, Xu founded her own start-up and produced touring off-Broadway shows in China before moving into producing and managing theater and film productions in the U.S. She is currently a faculty member at the California Institute of the Arts and a producer at the CalArts Center for New Performance.
Xu’s films have premiered at major international festivals. Hieu premiered at the 72nd Cannes Film Festival (2019), winning the Deuxième Prix at Cinéfondation. Finis Terrae screened at Critics’ Week at the 77th Venice International Film Festival (2020), where it won the Special Mention FEDIC Award for Best Short Film. Her debut feature, Way Out Ahead of Us, premiered in competition at the Festival International de Cinéma de Marseille (2022) and went on to win Best Narrative Feature at the New Hampshire Film Festival, and now streaming on Tubi. Her feature film Fairy Tale, World won the MPA(Motion Picture Association) Award at Beijing International Film Festival Film Market and earned six nominations in Taiwan Film Festival.
Her theater work with the CalArts Center for New Performance includes Night Walk in the Chinese Garden (written and directed by Stan Lai); The Carolyn Bryant Project (created by Nataki Garrett and Andrea LeBlanc); Scene with Cranes (written by Octavio Solis, directed by Chi-wang Yang); Augustine Machine ou Encore une nuit d’insomnie (directed by Travis Preston); and Etta and Ella on the Upper West Side (written by Adrienne Kennedy, directed by Monty Cole).
Xu is currently developing a slate of projects, including the feature film 1972 (written by Marissa Chibas, selected for the Sundance Screenwriters Intensive); Uncle Hiep’s Casino (written and directed by Richard Van, recipient of the SFFILM Rainin Grant, and selected for Film Independent’s Fast Track, Screenwriting Lab, and Producing Lab); and Wither (written and directed by award-winning filmmaker Logan Jackson).
She holds master’s degrees in Creative Producing from the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) and in Music Technology from New York University (NYU). She is an alumna of Film Independent’s Project Involve, where she received the Participant Fellowship Grant, and a fellow of Film Independent’s Producing Lab as well as the Producers Guild of America’s CREATE Program, Spotlight Dorado.