All young filmmakers dream of having their red carpet moment, and for one former Lindenwood film major, the moment comes much closer to where she got her start. 

Catalina Corredor was recognized by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences: Mid-America Chapter at the Student Production Awards, celebrating her creativity and dedication to storytelling. Corredor won the award in the Non-Fiction Short Form category for her documentary project Minami’s Method.

The film is a documentary about one of her friends she made during her time at Lindenwood, Minami Kikuchi, who was a dancer and was able to tell her story of growing up being passionate about dancing and having the talent for it before coming to Lindenwood and letting that talent shine.

Corredor, who graduated with a double major in Cinema Arts and Mass Communication with an emphasis in Media Arts and Production in 2024, said the honor still feels almost too good to be true.

“To be honored with an Emmy at 24 means the world to me,” she said. “I always saw it as a long-term goal and right now it feels surreal.”

Her journey to that stage began far from Missouri. Growing up in Colombia, she often made short films and videos with friends, but she didn’t always see a clear path forward. “It became clear to me that filmmaking was one of my greatest passions,” she said. “However, opportunities to pursue a career in this field were limited.”

However, once she stepped foot onto campus here at Lindenwood those limited opportunities soon began to present themselves in flurries.

“Because of scholarship opportunities I enrolled at Lindenwood, which was one of the greatest decisions I have taken because the Cinema Arts program is absolutely amazing,” she said. “To think that a few years ago I was back home unsure if I could pursue cinema, and now to be recognized with an Emmy after following my true dream, is amazing.”

Her winning documentary, Minami’s Method, began as a class assignment but became something much more personal. Corredor, a dancer for 18 years and a member of the Golden Line Dance Team at Lindenwood, always looked for ways to tie her love of dance into her film projects.

“When I started pursuing a career in cinema and communications, I always tried to make dance a part of my assignments and projects,” she explained. “This short film was actually part of my ‘Documentary Production’ class. Minami was always willing to help me with assignments in which I had freedom of choosing my subject, so I thought it would be super interesting to tell her story as a Japanese dancer studying at Lindenwood.”

The personal connection to the project gave the film its heartbeat as the story was not only about someone having a passion for dance and performance but also perseverance.

“My goal with this documentary was to showcase what it means to be an international student pursuing a career in dance in the United States, and the challenges that come with it,” she said.

With any documentary Corredor hoped there would be things that viewers might take away and strived to have her ideas come through in the final cut.

“I hope audiences take away the message that you can accomplish anything you set your mind to,” she said. “Watching Minami grow from when I met her and we were both freshmen, into a strong leader within Lindenwood’s dance program has been incredibly inspiring.”

Corredor also expresses gratitude to those who helped her with the project as she knows she couldn’t have done this alone and is thankful for all the helping hands that have their fingerprints over this film.

She credited her friend Ines Camilleri for audio support, Lindenwood dance faculty Tricia Zweier and Amy Gammon for rehearsal access and filming permissions, and choreographers Carmen Burlingame, Lily Prescott, and Statsa Racvkov for their artistic contributions.

“Finally,” she added, “I feel like the most important contributors in this project are Andrew Millians, Ben Scholle and Peter Carlos, my Cinema Arts teachers and mentors during my 4 years at Lindenwood, who taught me everything I needed to make this film a reality.”

The lessons Corredor learned from embarking on this creative journey to make this film will stick with her and she broadens her horizons and looks for the next chapter in her young, talented career. 

“This project taught me how meaningful it is to create work that connects to something deeply personal,” she said, “I also learned how important good planning and organization are to set the tone during filming and post-production and avoiding the stress of running out of time.”

Outside of film, Corredor also contributed to the communications department as a writer and photographer of LindenLink, the school’s student-run publication. After graduation, she spent a season working at Walt Disney World Resort through the Disney College Program and is now seeking her next creative opportunity.

The awards will take place on October 25, 2025 hosted by Jeff Houghton with the red carpet and cocktail reception beginning at 4 p.m. and the awards ceremony getting underway at 7:15 p.m. at the Ameristar Casino in the brand-new Brilliance Ballroom in St. Charles Missouri.

If you would like to watch Catalina’s work click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZopnh3E-kM