Katerina Cizek
Encyclopedia
Katerina Cizek is a Canadian documentary filmmaker and web creator whose credits include the 2010 web documentary
Out My Window
, winner of the inaugural IDFA DocLab Award for Digital Storytelling at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam. In April 2011, she was awarded an International Digital Emmy
for Out My Window, for best digital program: non-fiction.
Prior to creating Out My Window, Cizek directed an NFB crossmedia
documentary project about life inside Toronto’s St. Michael’s Hospital
. Called Filmmaker-in-Residence, it garnered a Webby Award for Best Documentary Series.
Cizek and NFB producer Gerry Flahive are also collaborating on academic research with urbanist Roger Kiel on how cities are changing, with the Global Suburbanisms program at York University
.
Prior to joining the NFB, her films included Seeing is Believing: Handicams, Human Rights and the News, co-directed with Peter Wintonick
.
In addition to her production work, Cizek teaches new media
approaches to documentary creation.
. The daughter of Czech immigrants, she now lives in the Roncesvalles district in Toronto. Cizek studied anthropology
at McGill University
in Montreal and worked as an independent filmmaker before joining the National Film Board of Canada
, where she works as a filmmaker-in-residence. Her father Jiří Čížek taught quantum physics at the University of Waterloo
. He is known for introducing Coupled cluster
theory.
Web documentary
A web documentary, interactive documentary or multimedia documentary is a documentary production that differs from the more traditional forms—video, audio, photographic—by applying a full complement of multimedia tools...
Out My Window
Out My Window
Out My Window is a 2010 web documentary by Katerina Cizek exploring the lives of families living in high-rise buildings in 13 cities around the world. The website is produced by National Film Board of Canada as part its collaborative documentary project Highrise...
, winner of the inaugural IDFA DocLab Award for Digital Storytelling at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam. In April 2011, she was awarded an International Digital Emmy
International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences
The International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences is an organization of global broadcasters, with members from nearly 70 countries and over 400 companies...
for Out My Window, for best digital program: non-fiction.
Prior to creating Out My Window, Cizek directed an NFB crossmedia
Crossmedia
Cross Media is a media property, service, story or experience distributed across media platforms using a variety of media forms...
documentary project about life inside Toronto’s St. Michael’s Hospital
St. Michael's Hospital (Toronto)
St. Michael's Hospital is a teaching hospital and medical centre in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was established by the Sisters of St. Joseph in 1892, with the founding goal of taking care of the sick and poor of Toronto's inner city. The hospital provides tertiary and quaternary services...
. Called Filmmaker-in-Residence, it garnered a Webby Award for Best Documentary Series.
Cizek and NFB producer Gerry Flahive are also collaborating on academic research with urbanist Roger Kiel on how cities are changing, with the Global Suburbanisms program at York University
York University
York University is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, Ontario's second-largest graduate school, and Canada's leading interdisciplinary university....
.
Prior to joining the NFB, her films included Seeing is Believing: Handicams, Human Rights and the News, co-directed with Peter Wintonick
Peter Wintonick
Peter Wintonick is an independent documentary filmmaker based in Montreal. A winner of the 2006 Governor General's Award in Visual and Media Arts, former Thinker in Residence for the Premier of South Australia, prolific award winning filmmaker, he is one of Canada's best known international...
.
In addition to her production work, Cizek teaches new media
New media
New media is a broad term in media studies that emerged in the latter part of the 20th century. For example, new media holds out a possibility of on-demand access to content any time, anywhere, on any digital device, as well as interactive user feedback, creative participation and community...
approaches to documentary creation.
Personal life
Cizek was born in Waterloo, OntarioWaterloo, Ontario
Waterloo is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada. It is the smallest of the three cities in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, and is adjacent to the city of Kitchener....
. The daughter of Czech immigrants, she now lives in the Roncesvalles district in Toronto. Cizek studied anthropology
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
at McGill University
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
in Montreal and worked as an independent filmmaker before joining the National Film Board of Canada
National Film Board of Canada
The National Film Board of Canada is Canada's twelve-time Academy Award-winning public film producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary, animation, alternative drama and digital media productions...
, where she works as a filmmaker-in-residence. Her father Jiří Čížek taught quantum physics at the University of Waterloo
University of Waterloo
The University of Waterloo is a comprehensive public university in the city of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The school was founded in 1957 by Drs. Gerry Hagey and Ira G. Needles, and has since grown to an institution of more than 30,000 students, faculty, and staff...
. He is known for introducing Coupled cluster
Coupled cluster
Coupled cluster is a numerical technique used for describing many-body systems. Its most common use is as one of several quantum chemical post-Hartree–Fock ab initio quantum chemistry methods in the field of computational chemistry...
theory.