‘Big ideas’ and teaching drive faculty member’s passion for filmmaking

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Much like the stories that pique her interest, Catharine Axley’s journey to becoming an award-winning filmmaker and an assistant professor of film production at Penn State was anything but typical. And not only does documentary filmmaking help tell those stories — it also helps her write her own.

Shortly after graduating from Yale University with a history degree, Axley started taking steps toward a life in film. She had big ideas like exploring cultural change through the voices of those directly affected. She knew film was a way to do that, but there was one problem.

 “I didn't really know how to make my own films,” she said. “I didn't know how to shoot.”

Axley “learned on the job” for a few years working as an assistant editor in New York City. That experience helped her get into Stanford University’s master of fine arts film program. While at Stanford, Axley said she gained the confidence, experience and a network that catapulted her into a career of documentary filmmaking.

She stayed in California’s Bay Area and worked freelance jobs, including video production for Google, to support herself while directing her first feature-length film. Axley said balancing the side hustles while maintaining the energy to be creative was a challenge, but it was worth it.

“It was great being in the Bay Area among other filmmakers,” she said. “Sharing office spaces, watching rough cuts, lending a hand on shoots … it’s really in collaborating with others and learning from their experiences that you begin to figure out how to craft a career path that may work for you.”

A call to teach

While in California, Axley met her husband, Ribhu Kaul, who was then a faculty member at the University of Kentucky. Ironically, Kaul’s father, mother, sister and brother-in-law all work or have worked in the film industry. He is a physics professor – currently at Penn State.

Nevertheless, Axley joined Kaul in Lexington and got a position teaching English classes at the university. That’s when all the pieces came together.

"They weren’t even film production classes, they were more film studies, but it was so much fun,” she said. “Once you experience students’ enthusiasm when they break down the filmmaking language for the first time, it’s almost impossible to not want to keep teaching. I knew I had to make teaching part of my long-term career.”

Today, Axley is an assistant professor of film production in the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications. She teaches "COMM 337: Intermediate Documentary Production" and "COMM 242: Introduction to Film Production," as well as media writing courses.

Axley said she enjoys sharing her love of filmmaking with students. Her courses emphasize the importance of collaboration and creativity, she explained, noting that some of the most rewarding moments are when students make their own discoveries about the filmmaking process.

"They’re sort of figuring out the fundamentals in real time, like core ethical questions during production, or crafting story in the edit,” she said. “It gets to a point when I’m no longer a professor. We’re collaborators. It's more like, how can we work together to make the strongest film possible?”

For Axley, who joined the Bellisario College in 2021, this approach is working. Matt Jordan, professor and head of the Department of Film Production and Media Studies, said Axley’s energy and passion are what drive her success in the classroom and in the field.

“Catharine is an extremely focused and talented teacher and filmmaker,” Jordan said. “She brings that same care, attention and dedication to the classroom where students rave about her impact on their work.”

Here is what some students have said about Axley’s classes: “Catharine is a great instructor who knows the material well. She truly cares for each of her students and is always eager to help students succeed,” read one evaluation. Another student wrote, “She really knows how this industry in particular works, and I found her knowledge to be super helpful.”

According to Maura Shea, associate teaching professor and associate head of the Department of Film Production and Media Studies, in addition to being a teacher, Axley is also a mentor and role model who students can aspire to emulate.

“Catharine’s directing and cinematography work are inspiring for students, particularly women, looking to go into the documentary field,” she said.  “She is a thoughtful and attentive professor who wants to see her students succeed.”

An upcoming 'dock-umentary'

Outside of the classroom, Axley is currently working on her next full-length documentary.

"I'm looking at how everyday individuals are impacted in ways big and small by the cruise industry,” she said. “That could be for good or bad or anywhere in between.”

The project will explore the complex influence the cruise industry has on communities around the world, while considering the role of fantasy and escape central to the industry’s appeal. Locations include ports in Portugal, the Bahamas, Turkey, India and more capturing unique situations and diverse points-of-view. Axley said the film is not an industry exposé, but rather a “contemplative and experiential film.” It asks questions specific to cruise tourism and universal to all human technological advancement and economic development.

“There is an overarching perspective to the film,” she said. “But if anything, it will likely only further challenge viewers’ current view of cruise tourism, whether they are big fans or critics.”

She said the people living and working in the port cities will help her answer the complicated questions she likes to ask, and the various locations will help her paint a broader view of what the cruise industry means to these towns and the world.

“It’s all through a personal lens,” she said. “I want the audience to see and consider the life experiences of individuals we might not have access to otherwise … and understand how they fit into the cruise ecosystem.”

Finding those unique personalities has become Axley’s trademark. In 2019, Axley released "Attla," a documentary spotlighting 10-time dog racing world champion and legendary Alaskan hero George Attla. The film won many awards, including best documentary at the 44th annual American Indian Film Festival and best Indigenous feature at the BendFilm Festival. It was featured in more than 20 festivals, including Penn State’s own Centre Film Festival, and other special showings. The documentary was also nationally broadcast on the PBS documentary series “Independent Lens.”

A big year ahead

This year will be a busy one for Axley. In February, she and her husband welcomed a baby boy, their second, to the family. She is planning to take the whole family to India this summer to finish filming a segment in Goa and she said she hopes to wrap up two other international shoots for her cruise documentary by early 2026 with a finished product later next year.

The goal is to “make the strongest film possible,” so the deadline can change, if needed. The project is being co-produced by ITVS, with a path for PBS distribution, which takes some of the pressure off and more time to focus on the film itself, she said.

“I'm okay if it takes a little bit longer if the film is going to be that much stronger,” Axley said. “My team and I have been working on this for almost six years now, I’ve been thinking about the subject for 16, and each shoot leaves me with new questions and ideas that push me and my team to tweak our approach. ... There’s a feeling of responsibility to all involved, including participants in the film, to capture something that makes audiences think long after the film is over.”