Meet Katheryn Sanchez Ortiz

Today we’d like to introduce you to Katheryn Sanchez Ortiz.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
For me telling stories started as a game, as a child, creating characters that embarked imaginary adventures was my favorite hobby. Later on, I will discover one of the biggest treasures, my dad’s video camera. This finding took my ideas and stories to a different level. With it, I had the power to show those stories and reflect my ideas to others and for me, that was very powerful.

And that’s how I ended studying… Industrial Engineer. Unexpected? Well, I grew up in Colombia. Colombia is beautiful in so many ways, but also very challenging in many others. Career paths were limited to the traditional majors and at that point, pursuing filmmaking seemed crazy and risky. Four years later, I would earn my Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering and even though the journey was hard, the whole experience ended preparing me mentally and professionally to face any challenge. However, during those years, I always found a way to include my passion for film and production throughout my university experience, especially when presenting final projects. That always made me stand out among my other classmates, but most importantly, it reminded me of what it felt like to do something I love.

After graduation, I worked in marketing for over a year, got an offer for promotion and of course I… Declined. I knew that I was ready to make a change and take the risk to live a life that actually meant something to me. That’s why, right there in the middle of the routine and pressure of making a decision, I decided to change the course of the expected and the safety and to start from scratch. I packed my bags, got a one-way ticket and came to the US to study producing at UCLA and later a master’s in Film and Media Production at NYFA. After four years of studying and working in the industry with a variety of companies and projects, I think the life and career experiences that I have accumulated so far has made the risk all worth it. And that is why a crazy passionate engineer joined the world of film and entertainment seeking to make a difference one story at a time.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
As a Latina immigrant, coming to the United States looking for more opportunities and higher education, there is a lot of thriving, risks and of course, obstacles. But I would say the hardest obstacles I’ve come to face along the route are the ones coming from inside me, DOUBT and FEAR. I think we always think of all the external obstacles but most of those are just a representation of what we are not able to control internally. So, every day I try to fight my fears and embrace any obstacle, as like to believe good things come from being resilient.

We’d love to hear more about your work.
I am an independent producer and storyteller, seeking to take stories, characters, and projects that I believe in, out to the world. As a producer, I am also very proud to be involved with NALIP, the National Association of Latino Independent Producers, a non-profit organization that strives to advance and promote Latino Content Creators by becoming the pipeline of diverse and inclusive talent and stories in the industry. I am very proud to contribute to that mission by producing projects like Hacienda Paraiso, a Colombia-US co-production and Her Body, sponsored by the Time Warner Foundation, films where Latino stories and content creators take the frontfore, setting new molds, away from stereotypes that have limited us in the past. I like to think that what sets me apart from others are all the particularities of my journey, that shaped my voice and mind as a content creator and at the same time allows me to provide a business vision balanced with the passion of storytelling.

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Personally, I would define success as the opportunity to create a path and journey with determination and hard work, one that I am proud of, regardless of the external results. I set my goals and standards really high, but I also like to redefine them constantly, as the engineer in me would say, ‘any process can always be improved’.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.katusan.com
• Email: [email protected]

Image Credit:
Personal photos by: @Pipo Wagner @Yunuen Bonaparte @Amy Crea

Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.