Behind the Whiskers

Christina Raia developed an interest in film very early on as a child. She began writing stories at age five and wrote her first screenplay, or what she thought was a screenplay, by age nine. She knew her love for movies was something bigger than just an interest when a video camera was first placed in her hands at the age of 13. It was from that point forward that her passion in life was clearly defined. In high school, she attempted to make two "feature films" with a cast of her friends and a crew of one, but those never quite panned out. After high school, she took a year off and honed in on her writing. She won a couple of online video contests and put the money towards funding her first big project. She enrolled in Hunter College in 2008 and made her first independent short, "Do Over," a psychological thriller, the summer after her freshman year. She graduated with honors as a Film Production major in 2012.

Now 24 and the CoFounder of CongestedCat Productions, she has completed six independently produced short films and a handful of comedy sketches, all as writer, director and producer. She wrapped production on her first feature film, Summit, in February of 2013. It will be submitted to festivals in Spring 2014. Shortly after wrapping Summit, she directed and co-produced the web series "Kelsey," written by team member Kelsey Rauber. Since premiering in September 2013, the series has garnered an exceptional amount of hits and rave reviews by Critics. Her work has made official selection at festivals across the country in the past two years, including the NexTV Festival, Laff Vegas Comedy Festival, New York City Screenplay Contest, East Harlem Film Festival, International Film Festival of Manhattan, Faux Film Fest, Dark Comedy Festival, Laugh or Die Fest, New Jersey HorrorFest and the Macabre Faire Film Fest . Her work and approach as a writer/director have been covered in mainstream and film media, including the Examiner, Indiewire, BuzzFeed, AfterEllen, Chatham Courier, New York Filmmakers and New York Cine Radio. 

She is excited to have a talented and committed group of people to work with, and is incredibly grateful to call those same people her closest friends. She plans to continue building the CongestedCat team as the content produced continues to grow. She also turned her desire to foster collaboration and support in the local film community into IndieWorks, a film series showcasing the work of independent filmmakers in New York. She is currently in pre-production for three separate shorts slated for production in 2014.

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