Behind the Whiskers
CongestedCat Productions is an award winning narrative production company that is very active in the New York independent film scene. We produce shorts, features and web series; primarily focusing on comedy and horror content, using genre as a lens to explore social structures and shine light on underrepresented perspectives. As a multicultural and queer-inclusive team, we're especially interested in representing intersectional identities. Challenging industry exclusion is a driving force for our team and the work that we do together. Our monthly screening series IndieWorks, which wrapped up its seventh year in 2020, has screened nearly 400 shorts and provided a platform to over 300 local filmmakers. We aim to create an inclusive, accessible and inspiring environment that will spark thoughtful discussion and future collaboration and support. The screenings are always free to attend and our Q&As are always highly personalized.
In addition to programming and organizing IndieWorks every month, CongestedCat produces and releases multiple new projects per year. We’re most known for critically-acclaimed web series Kelsey, and our latest releases include short horror “The Gaze” and feature film About a Donkey. See our Press page for major highlights and our blog for the latest news.
Meet the Production Team
Christina Raia (@craia9)
Founder: Writer, Director, Producer
Pronouns: She, Her, Hers
Kelsey Rauber (@kelseyshows)
Co-Owner: Writer, Producer
Pronouns: She, Her, Hers
Ryan Kramer (@ryankramer)
Writer, Director
Pronouns: He, Him, His
Matt Gershowitz (@tehgershwitz)
Editor, Assistant Director
Pronouns: He, Him, His
Extended IndieWorks Team
Dani Thomas (@danithomas)
Social Media Coordinator, IndieWorks Host, Actor
Pronouns: She, Her, Hers
Kimberly Whiten (@kimboslicey1)
IndieWorks Videographer/Editor
Pronouns: She, Her, Hers
Ricardo Manigat (@theravishinrick)
IndieWorks Host, Actor
Pronouns: He, Him, His
How We Started
CongestedCat was originally founded by filmmaker Christina Raia & photographer Chris Carroll in 2011. Christina & Chris grew up together and stayed friends into adulthood, largely bonded by their mutual aspiration to work in the arts. When Christina began pursuing independent filmmaking with full force while still in college, Chris proposed they collaborate and establish a production company that would bring a fresh perspective to the art of filmmaking. Christina's classmates Kelsey Rauber, Ryan Kramer, and Matt Gershowitz were immediately brought in as core members. Soon after shooting our first feature film, Summit, Chris moved on to focus on fashion photography (though still an honorary member and go-to photographer) and Kelsey became Christina's main collaborating producer for the company.
Where We're Headed
In 2020, we set some ambitious goals, all of which were derailed by COVID-19. We still managed to have a (virtual) festival run for our short “Affliction,” and do some remote production to keep creativity flowing even in quarantine via “Feline Fables.” And even though IndieWorks had to go on hiatus, we tried to maintain momentum through curated playlists of alumni shorts on our social media channels. In 2021, we hit the festival circuit with our newest shorts “Shadows” and “Game Brunch,” while 2022 and 2023 were devoted to writing new projects and planning for ways to collaborate in the future with our new norms: an ongoing pandemic, some team members navigating parenthood, and our company leaders moving Upstate. Stay tuned.