Kate diRienzi is a Brooklyn-based filmmaker from Philly. Her films examine explosive emotional landscapes through a lens of strained femininity and queer freedom. 

Before making films, Kate began as a theater director and choreographer. Her short films have screened at festivals including Hamptons International, Nantucket, and Bend Film Festival. Her work has been recognized by NFFTY, Boston Film Festival, and Short of the Week.

Kate is a 2026 Saltonstall Filmmaking Fellow, a 2025 Robert Gore Rifkind Queer Production Grant Recipient, 2025 Screenwriter Sessions PANO Scholarship Recipient, and a 2024 NYWIFT Scholarship Recipient.

Kate received her BFA from NYU Tisch School of the Arts and her MFA in Screenwriting & Directing at Columbia University. She also participated in the La Fémis Producing Atelier in Paris and Cannes. Kate is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Screenwriting at Columbia University.