Katherine Amy Propper (born April 22, 1993) is an American film director and screenwriter. She is known for her feature directorial debut film Lost Soulz (2023) and short films.
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.
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. Street Flame screened at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2019 and won several awards at film festivals.
Career After completing her studies, she worked in Austin for American director Terrence Malick on the editing team of his long-gestating religious epic. Propper moved to Texas inspired by the independent, free spirit of Austin-based filmmakers like Malick, Richard Linklater, Jeff Nichols, and Robert Rodriguez.
The Austin Film Society supported her short film Birds, featuring intercut vignettes of Texas youths finding beauty on a summer day. Birds won awards at Clermont-Ferrand in France and at South by Southwest in 2022, where it won Special Jury Recognition for Vision. 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. 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.
Filmography
Feature films +YearTitleDirectorWriterProducerNotesRefs2023Lost Soulz
Short films YearTitleDirectorWriterProducerNotesRefs2018PentecostFilm editor2019Street FlameFilm editor2021BirdsFilm editor
Awards and nominations +AwardYearCategory Nominated workResultTribeca Film Festival2019Best Narrative ShortStreet Flame2023Best U.S. Narrative FeatureLost SoulzAudience Award - Narrative Feature Runner UpSXSW Film Festival2022SXSW Grand Jury Award - Texas ShortBirdsSpecial Jury Prize for VisionCleveland International Film Festival2024New Direction CompetitionLost SoulzNashville Film Festival2023New Directors CompetitionLost SoulzRaindance Film Festival2023Best Debut Feature Lost SoulzTallgrass International Film Festival2023Stubbornly Independent Award - Grand Jury PrizeLost SoulzAmerican Film Institute Festival2022Live Action Short FilmBirdsClermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival2022International Competition - Grand PrixBirdsInternational Competition - Special Mention of the JuryMammoth Lakes Film Festival2022Best Narrative ShortBirdsStockholm Film Festival2022Best Short FilmBirdsDenver International Film Festival2022Best Student Domestic ShortBirdsAspen Shortsfest2019Best DramaStreet FlamePalm Springs International ShortFest2019Best Student Film Under 15 MinutesStreet FlameSidewalk Film Festival2019Best Student FilmStreet FlameRhode Island International Film Festival2019Best Student Film Award - Short Film Street FlameOak Cliff Film Festival2018Best Student ShortPentecost
References
External links