Kate Levy

Collaborators and Clients

About

Kate Levy (b. 1984, Royal Oak, Michigan) is a filmmaker and multimedia artist. Drawing on investigative and historical research and collaborations with community organizers, her documentary films, installations, sculptures, texts, and photography series interrogate power structures, cultural narratives and the relationship between the everyday and the catastrophic. She has worked on projects related to water, education, police violence, immigration and environmental and economic justice.

Kate has exhibited her award-winning film, photography and installation work at film festivals, galleries and museums across the US. In 2015, her work with the ACLU of Michigan helped expose the Flint Water Crisis. She was a 2017 Patagonia Works grant recipient for her feature film about water access across the US and a 2018 MacDowell fellow. From 2019-2021, Kate served as the Co-Director of the Youth Documentary Workshop at Educational Video Center. Beginning in August 2023, she will be the Stuart B. and Barbara Padnos Distinguished Artist-In-Residence at Grand Valley State University.

As a director, cinematographer and editor, Kate also works with clients, primarily non-profits, media outlets and other independent filmmakers to create meaningful, community-driven, journalistic video and multimedia storytelling projects.

Contact: [email protected] | 646.925.9510 | View CV

Testimonials

Kate Levy is able to humanize a very complex and painful issue to the broader community. She does it with heart and a unique lens.
Rashida Tlaib, US Congresswoman

We LOVE this video, and our partners were similarly over the moon about it. One of the staff told me it brought tears to her eyes.
Merritt Birnbaum, Friends of Governors Island

Kate Levy’s work exceeded our expectations in all respects. She’s a pleasure to work with, but more importantly works hard to find the core of the subject she is documenting, spending countless hours to uncover the story beneath the surface.
John Philo, Executive Director, Maurice and Jane Sugar Law Center

I worked with Kate and a team from Senior Housing Preservation – Detroit on a video designed to establish an awareness and a call to action on behalf of low income elderly living in Midtown and Downtown Detroit. From a creative standpoint, I worked with Kate from concept through interviews and editing. She certainly has an excellent eye, but she also complements the editorial process with insight and well-placed comments/questions. The finished product has been well-received and has been shown many times in the course of our advocacy work at Authority Health.
Dennis Archambault, Authority Health Wayne County

Kate is always involved in the most interesting stories and usually has been for months before you ever heard about them. She is an experienced and talented documentary filmmaker. She’s one of the few people who aren’t afraid to show where they stand on an issue and her work is better because of it.
Nick Hayes, Means of Production

Phenomenal. Powerful. Absolutely revealing. Classy. Impactful. Very timely. Historical. Truth. Compassionate. Compelling. Challenging. Ringing solidarity. Take no prisoners!
Chili Yazzi, President of Shiprock Chapter of Navajo Nation

Kate Levy works collaboratively, effectively, and tirelessly to bring to light the issues, people, and communities that are leading the way to a more just world. She treats people with respect and the issues facing them with critical, compassionate honesty.
Jackson Koeppel, Executive Director, Soulardarity

Having worked closely with Kate on many occasions, I can say with certainty that she is a tireless worker who brings high energy, tremendous creativity, uncompromised ethical standards, a spirit of cooperation, intense commitment to community, and a core belief in egalitarianism to every project.
Curt Guyette Investigative Reporter, ACLU of Michigan

Kate Levy is truly a very gifted filmmaker and producer. Her passion, creativity and ability to capture raw truth is amazing as she with allows the victims of injustice to tell our stories.
Aliya Moore, Detroit Public Schools Parent and Activist

Kate is really knowledgeable in not only technical film making, but also emotional film making. If you need someone to visually display the emotion of you story, this is your person.
Desmond Love, Documentary Filmmaker

Kate is a talented visual story teller. From planning to filming to editing she is passionate and committed to excellence.
Sofia Nelson, Attorney, State Appellate Defenders Office

approach

My passion is collaborating with people to tell the stories that matter to them. I am a full service documentary production company, and freelance D.P., Editor, Producer and Director. I specialize in documentary film, music videos, and creative storytelling for non-profits, small business and legal advocacy groups.

Technical Expertise

Digital Video production, including expertise in DSLR video, Canon C-Series and Sony FS Series. I own a Canon C300 Mark II, and several cinema-quality zoom and prime lenses, with a variety of rig options.
Still Photography. I own a Nikon D810 and professional lenses of varying focal lengths.
Nonlinear editing (Final Cut Pro X and Adobe Premiere)
Adobe Photoshop (From color correcting, advanced compositing and rendering)
Professional Sound Production
Adobe InDesign
Adobe AfterEffects
Stop Motion Animation
Archival research
Investigative journalism and public records requests
Preproduction planning, research, crew selection, storyboarding, budgeting, production timelines and grant writing

For Businesses

I work with businesses to develop a project scope unique to your marketing
and budgetary needs. Together, we can tell the story of your organization, not just its use value. Let's collaborate to reveal the humanity behind your work.

Producing a film is also an opportunity to bring people together and deepen your staff's commitment to their work. When appropriate, in addition to traditional full-service film production, I offer the added service of inviting your company's staff and/or customers into the process of film creation. This may take the form of inviting a non-communications staff person to co-interview subjects; facilitating collective brainstorming, storyboarding and feedback sessions; or video production workshops to train your staff to produce media in-house. Creating roles within a production for staff who fill traditionally "non-creative roles" also taps into an overlooked knowledge base that can transform the final product from one that is very interesting to one that is utterly fascinating.

For Nonprofits

I have extensive experience working with nonprofits to develop mission-driven narratives for fundraising, outreach and education. I have collaborated with nonprofits dedicated to environmental justice, racial justice, equal education affordable water, sustainable energy, women's and LGBTQ rights, and arts and culture.

I will work within your organization's budget and fundraising strategy to create an effective, long-lasting tool driven by heartfelt stories. In addition to full service film production, I offer consulting for impact and long-term media strategies.

Producing a film is also an opportunity to bring people together, build your organization's base or deepen your staff's commitment to your organization's mission. I have extensive experience galvanizing communities in a participatory process. When appropriate, in addition to traditional full-service film production, I offer the added service of inviting your organization's staff and/or community into the process of creation. This may take the form of inviting a non-communications staff person to co- interview subjects; facilitating collective brainstorming, storyboarding and feedback sessions; hosting audience identification or impact strategy-sessions; and film production workshops to train your staff to produce media in-house. Creating roles within a film project for staff who fill traditionally "non-creative roles" taps into an overlooked knowledge base that can transform the final product from one that is very interesting to one that is utterly fascinating. Creating roles for "noncreatives," can also unleash a newfound satisfaction in one's job and organizational mission.

In working with nonprofits, I embrace the following ethics:

Media production is, in itself, a way to organize and empower communities.
Media must be entertaining and engaging, and must serve a function that the written word cannot.
When possible, collaborating artists and technicians should come from the client organization's community and should be fairly compensated
Media production should add to, not detract from an organization’s capacity, and should not take the place of other forms of organizing and advocacy.
Narratives must not entrench harmful stereotypes
Narratives must affirm the agency of communities to problem solve on their own behalf
Telling stories about one’s own community is empowering. Whenever possible, an organization’s community and constituents should be involved in the process of developing narratives to the fullest extent possible
All information presented must adhere to journalistic standards of accuracy

For Law Firms and Legal Advocacy Organizations

I work with for profit law firms and nonprofit legal advocacy organizations to supplement your legal strategies with video storytelling. My previous collaborators have been the State of Michigan Appellate Defender's Office, the American Civil Liberties Union, Community Legal Services of Philadelphia, and the Maurice and Jane Sugar Law Center. I have produced films for courtroom and for public viewing. I am available for all of your video needs in working up a case.