BRIEF BIO

Christina Raia is a New York born and based Writer/Director, and the Founder of CongestedCat Productions. With an affinity for building tension and blending tones, she focuses on character-driven and socially conscious horror and comedy, using genre as a lens to represent, discuss, and dissect social issues, otherness and real world anxieties. Her work, consisting of over a dozen short films, a web series, and two feature films, has screened at regional festivals all across the country, most recently at Sidewalk Film Festival and Chattanooga Film Festival, and has been covered on various press outlets, such Indiewire and BuzzFeed. Her mixed race, South Asian (Indo-Trinidadian) heritage play a major role in Christina's commitment to portraying intersectional underrepresented identities and perspectives in the characters and stories of her writing and directing. In 2021, Christina was selected for film incubator Breaking Light Studio, where Lilly Wachowski serves as head of creative development. Through them she has begun early development of her next feature, a horror-comedy titled Silent Night, the first draft of which was a 2016 quarter finalist in Slamdance’s Screenplay Competition.

IN MY OWN WORDS

Growing up, I was raised in a two parent household, my wonderful single mom and the TV. I didn't know exactly how movies and shows were made but for as long as I can remember, I knew I wanted to make them. I started writing stories at age five and wrote my first screenplay, or at least what I thought was a screenplay, at age nine. Watching "The Twilight Zone" marathon every fourth of July was a family tradition, and I credit that as a huge reason for my interest in short-form genre filmmaking in particular. I felt the magic of bringing my ideas to life outside my head when I was 13 and got to play with a camcorder for the first time. From that point forward, my life’s passion and path were clearly defined. The first in my family to go to college, I got a BA in Film Studies in 2012 and began my independent filmmaking journey by writing, directing, and producing my first feature, a horror film I crowdfunded that same year. That experience led to not only a growing audience that has followed me from project to project, but also speaking and consulting opportunities where I’ve been able to support other filmmakers. I have so many stories to tell and look forward to seeing where my creative journey takes me next.