Katherine Brooks (born March 15, 1976) is an American film

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...

and

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''Di ...

. Brooks is a member of the

Directors Guild of America The Directors Guild of America (DGA) is an entertainment guild that represents the interests of film and television directors in the United States motion picture industry and abroad. Founded as the Screen Directors Guild in 1936, the group merge ...

, a Jury Member for Samsung Fresh-Films 2007 (the largest teen filmmaking program in the USA) and is the recipient of the LACE Award for Arts and Entertainment. In 2011, she was named one of the "Amazing Gay Women in Showbiz" by

POWER UP POWER UP (the "Professional Organization of Women in Entertainment Reaching Up") is an American non-profit organization and film production company with the stated mission "to promote the visibility and integration of gay women in entertainment ...

Career

Brooks has directed 21

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

shows, as well as written and directed 10 films. Her

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

and television credits include three seasons of the

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

winning show '' The Osbournes'', '' Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica'', and

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

's groundbreaking ''

The Real World Real World or The Real World may also refer to: * Real life, a phrase to distinguish between the real world and fictional, virtual or idealized worlds Television * ''The Real World'' (TV series), 1992–2017 * "The Real World" (''Stargate Atla ...

''. While associated with MTV, she helmed the network's '' There and Back'', with Ashley Parker Angel and Tiffany Lynn, ''

Meet the Barkers ''Meet the Barkers'' is a reality television series which aired on MTV. The series followed the everyday life of married couple, Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker and Shanna Moakler, as well as Moakler and Barker's two children, Alabama Luella Barke ...

'' with Blink 182 drummer

Travis Barker Travis Landon Barker (born November 14, 1975) is an American musician who serves as the drummer for the rock band Blink-182. He has also performed as a frequent collaborator with hip hop artists, is a member of the rap rock group Transpla ...

, and directed and produced ''

The Simple Life ''The Simple Life'' is an American reality television series starring Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie. It depicts the two wealthy socialites, as they struggle to do manual, low-paying jobs such as cleaning rooms, farm work, serving meals in fast ...

'' starring Paris Hilton and

Nicole Richie Nicole Camille Richie (; born September 21, 1981) is an American television personality, fashion designer, socialite, and actress. She came to prominence after appearing in the reality television series ''The Simple Life'' (2003–2007), in whic ...

. Brooks moved into directing feature films after making her short films ''Finding Kate'' and ''Dear Emily''. Brooks's first feature film, ''

Loving Annabelle ''Loving Annabelle'' is a 2006 American romantic drama film written and directed by Katherine Brooks. Inspired by ''Mädchen in Uniform'', it tells the story of a boarding school student who falls in love with her teacher. Plot Annabelle Tillma ...

'', which Brooks wrote and directed, stars

Erin Kelly Erin Kelly (born August 21, 1981) is an American film, theater and television actress, best known for her role as Annabelle Tillman in Katherine Brooks' 2006 film ''Loving Annabelle''. Career Kelly has collaborated with director Katherine Bro ...

Diane Gaidry Diane Adair Gaidry (October 11, 1964 – January 30, 2019) was an American film and theatre actress. She is best known for the character, Simone, in ''Loving Annabelle'', and also starred in '' The Dogwalker'', directed by Jacques Thelemaque. ...

and Kevin McCarthy. It debuted at the prestigious

Cinequest The Cinequest Film & Creativity Festival is an annual independent film festival held each March in San Jose, California and Redwood City, California. The international festival combines the cinematic arts with Silicon Valley’s innovation. It is ...

Film Festival in 2006. The film won the Audience Award and Best Actress Award at Outfest. In addition, ''Loving Annabelle'' won Best Feature Film at Melbourne Film Festival (2006), Barcelona Film Festival (2006), Atlanta Film Festival (2006), and the Jury Award at Paris Cinema Festival (2006). Brooks wrote her second feature, the indie thriller ''

Waking Madison ''Waking Madison'' (originally titled ''Mad World'') is a 2011 American independent drama film written and directed by Katherine Brooks and starring Sarah Roemer and Elisabeth Shue. The film was screened at the Newport Beach Film Festival, in Cos ...

'', in New Orleans, a film which stars

Sarah Roemer Sarah Christine Roemer (born August 28, 1984) is an American actress and model. One of her best-known roles was a supporting character in '' Disturbia'', and she has also starred in a number of films including ''Asylum'', '' Hachi: A Dog's Tale ...

( Disturbia), Elisabeth Shue,

Will Patton William Rankin Patton (born June 14, 1954) is an American actor and audiobook narrator. He starred as Colonel Dan Weaver in the TNT science fiction series ''Falling Skies''. He also appeared in the films ''Remember the Titans'', ''Armageddon'', ...

, Frances Conroy, and

Taryn Manning Taryn Manning is an American actress and singer. She is best known for portraying Tiffany "Pennsatucky" Doggett in the Netflix original series ''Orange Is the New Black'' (2013–2019), Cherry in ''Sons of Anarchy'' (2008–2010), Nola in ''Hus ...

. The film explores the journey of a young woman suffering from multiple personality disorder. Her documentary ''Face 2 Face'' appeared in Netflix in 2013. Katherine was a Field Producer on the National Geographic show "Impact" produced by Gal Gadot. Her most recent work is '' Lost in Time'' (2018), starring

Jill Hennessy Jillian Noel Hennessy (born November 25, 1968) is a Canadian actress and singer. She is most known for her roles on the American television series ''Law & Order'', on which she played prosecutor Claire Kincaid for three seasons, and ''Crossing ...

Personal life

Brooks is a spokesperson for PETA and a practicing Buddhist. Brooks lives in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Films

''Finding Kate''

In 2004,

and Brooks made an experimental short film called ''Finding Kate''. The short film was part of a series called ''Virgin Memoirs'', a compilation which narrated the "first time" experiences of women. A young Erin Kelly plays 17-year-old Kate at a wedding reception. When she sees Victoria ( Jessica Lancaster), she quickly drops her boyfriend's hand to go and talk to her cousin. The two flirt and end up in the pool together, their eyes dancing until they begin to kiss.

''Dear Emily''

Sara is going to visit her high school friend Emily. On her journey there, she recalls her last experience with her teenage crush, remembering a letter that she wrote Emily—a letter confessing her love for her. Following a painful flashback to Emily's mocking of Sara after she reads the note, she decides to keep on driving to her destination. ''Dear Emily'' was funded by EVEO.com after Brooks won a pitch contest for her feature film, ''Loving Annabelle''. Despite being given only 6 weeks from conception to completion, and just $1,000 to make it, the film, to date, has made back over 500% of its profit.

''Loving Annabelle''

'' is the controversial story of a Catholic boarding school teacher, Simone Bradley (Diane Gaidry), who has an affair with her female student, Annabelle (Erin Kelly). The film was summed up by '' Variety magazine'' as a "Guilty Pleasure", and has won numerous awards on the festival circuit, including the Outfest Award for Best Actress, and the Outfest Award for the Audience Choice. The film sat in the top five list of videos rented by lesbians according to Wolfe Video's web site. It is recommended by 100% of readers on scene-OUT.com, and is ranked on the bestseller's list in its category on Amazon.

''Waking Madison''

'' is the provocative story of a young woman's battle with mental illness. Madison Walker (

) is suffering of dissociative identity disorder or multiple personality disorder. Living in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

and working as a sex phone operator, Madison is doing everything she can to lead a normal life. When a series of events leaves Madison suicidal and desperate, she locks herself away in her apartment for 30 days. Using a video camera to document herself like a visual journal, Madison clearly states on her first entry that if she does not have the answers to her questions and feels more at people with her life on the 30th day, she will kill herself. With the help of Doctor Elizabeth Barnes ( Elisabeth Shue), Madison begins to slowly piece her life together. Determined to find a cure for herself, Madison hostages herself in her apartment for 30 days and embarks on a journey to discover: what is real? The climactic twist at the end leaves audiences with the very same question. Brooks stated:

I'm intrigued by the challenge of telling a story from the perspective of a character suffering from multiple personality disorder. Visually, Madison will take on an innovative style of mixing narrative with documentary- realism.

As part of research for the topic, Brooks locked herself up for 30 days and underwent the same process as the character Madison. This helped Brooks to visually re-create her experiences from the trial, bringing the character and the story more to life. ''Waking Madison'' was shot on location in New Orleans in Winter 2007.

''Face 2 Face''

Brooks recently completed a documentary with the director doing a three-month summer trip around the country, meeting 50 of her

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...

friends who said yes when she posed the question as her status, "Who would like to spend a day with me and I'll come visit you". The idea was born after the director had a surgery, and despite having 4700 friends on Facebook, stated that she felt alone.Face2facemovie.com
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Filmography

Features

* Lost In Time (2017) * The Boys Club (''pre-production'') * Face 2 Face (2012) *

(2009) *

(2006) * Surrender (2003)

Short films

* Finding Kate (2004) * Dear Emily (2001) * Luna Butterflys (2000) * Outtakes (1998)

Television

* ''There & Back: Ashley Parker Angel'' (TV series) (2006) * ''My Own'' (TV series) (2006) * ''

'' (TV series) (2005) * ''Love is in the Heir'' (TV series) (2004) * ''He's a Lady'' (TV series) (2004) * ''Wanna Come In?'' (TV series) (2004) * ''

2: Road Trip'' (TV series) (2004) * '' Newlyweds: Nick & Jessica'' (TV series) (2003) * ''

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

'' (TV series) (2003) * '' The Osbournes'' (TV series) (2002) * ''The Complex'' (TV series) (2002) * '' Sexcetera'' (TV series) (1998)

References

External links

*
Katherine Brooks Interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brooks, Katherine 1976 births Living people American documentary film directors American television directors American women screenwriters Lesbian artists American lesbian writers LGBT film directors LGBT screenwriters American women documentary filmmakers American women television directors Film directors from Louisiana Screenwriters from Louisiana LGBT people from Louisiana People from Covington, Louisiana Shorty Award winners LGBT television directors 21st-century American women