Daily Inspiration: Meet Catherine Argyrople

Today we’d like to introduce you to Catherine Argyrople.

Hi Catherine, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I’ve always been an artist. When I was young, I loved to create– from photography and video work to writing. I started as a professional photographer and videographer when I was in high school and built my business through my college years. When I was in college, I studied Film Production and Media Theory at Northeastern University in Boston. Through my studies, it became clear to me that I wanted to transition out of videography work and into narrative storytelling through film. In my last semester of college in the fall of 2021, I took a leap of faith in myself and decided to pursue my passion– making my debut feature film. I became connected with my writing partner, Mariana Fabian, and together we wrote Growing Pains. I started my production company Argyrople Productions LLC in early 2022 and began working full-time to write, produce, and direct Growing Pains. Growing Pains is my biggest project to date. Our shoot was 21 days in the summer of 2022, and we are about to wrap up post-production a year later. Growing Pains is set to premiere in late 2023.

Growing Pains is a real & raw coming-of-age drama about identity, sexuality, and the aftermath of surviving cancer. The film was inspired by true stories and is about growing into yourself amidst a society that ignores the serious hardships that teen girls face. Addressing disability, queer representation, and mental health, Growing Pains is a love letter for young women who have struggled to see their stories depicted on screen. Growing Pains follows childhood girlfriends Zoe and Nat, who face the tumultuous transition from middle to high school as their friendship drifts apart. Growing Pains was written, directed, produced, and filmed by women. I am very passionate about female-centered stories with authentic representation. As a disabled and queer creative, it is important for me to have the ability to tell our stories accurately and with grace.

Watch the Growing Pains trailer here: https://vimeo.com/804931146

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Not at all. As a childhood cancer survivor, I have lived quite an unconventional life with many struggles along the way. In high school, I suffered from intense anxiety and an eating disorder. This difficult period of time in my life actually inspired my film, Growing Pains. It is quite cathartic to transform painful experiences into something beautiful and real.

Although making Growing Pains was a dream come true, it was also quite an intense process. As the lead creative on the film, I tackled all of the producing work– from creative producing to line producing and general business logistics. I struggled a lot with line producing the film, as this is not my area of expertise or passion. That being said, producing this film taught me how business savvy and capable I am. It truly showed me that I can do anything I set my mind to.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I tend to make female-centered stories grounded in reality with strong, authentic representation. As Growing Pains is partly inspired by my experiences as a childhood cancer survivor, I’m really proud to tell this story. There’s little to no childhood cancer content out there, and these stories rarely show how the aftermath of cancer impacts you as you grow up. I am quite an open person, and I am not afraid to be vulnerable with my work. As a writer/director who often writes from personal experience, I have a unique connection to the stories I tell. I love working with the actors and having the story come to life, bringing it so far beyond my own experience.

I have made drama and comedy projects, but I would love to tackle a psychological thriller. I’m very inspired by Christopher Nolan, Jordan Peele, and Emerald Fennell. I dream of the day when I make something dark, gritty, and unexpected like those filmmakers.

Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
I feel lucky and grateful to be alive and to have had the opportunity to make a feature film. Not many people have the ability or resources to pull off a project of this scale. I would not be here without the support of my family and community to help bring this film to life.

In terms of the Growing Pains production, we were quite lucky in how many things came together. For one of my lead characters, Zoe, I had pretty niche requirements for the role. I needed a teen girl actress who was also a rower. The character is a cancer survivor, so she has a large scar across her stomach. I thought I was going to have to use special effects makeup to create the scar, as I thought it would be impossible to find someone who had a scar of their own (especially without a casting director to help). It was fate that connected me to my lead actress, Molly Morneweck, who checked off all my boxes, including the scar due to a medical complication when she was younger. I was so touched to collaborate with someone who could empathize with the medical background of Zoe’s character and bring authentic representation to the screen.

We also were extremely lucky to have beautiful weather during the entire production of Growing Pains. We filmed a lot of scenes outside– including on the water for the rowing sequences. Massachusetts weather can be quite unpredictable, so I feel grateful that everything came together smoothly. It was a beast to coordinate the schedules for the production, and we had to get everything filmed before school began in the fall for our actors. Luck was definitely on our side to allow for a smooth production with no reschedules or reshoots.

Contact Info:

• Website: catherineargyrople.com
• Instagram: @catherineargyrople
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/catherineargyrople/