b. 1974, London, Ontario, Canada
Cathy is a Canadian academic specializing in Film and Visual Culture. She discovered Japanese independent animation practices when living in Nishikata 2-Chome, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo in 2006. Since then, she has written extensively about Japanese animation on her website Nishikata Film Review and in academic publications. She has curated the short animation selection at Nippon Connection in Frankfurt am Main, Germany since 2011. Since returning to Japan in 2019 she teaches at Keio University SFC and at Hosei University.

1997 Combined Honours BA in English and Film, Brescia College, University of Western Ontario
2000 MA in Film and Video, York University, Toronto
2004 PhD in Film and Visual Culture, University of Exeter

What is Nippon Connection?, Into Animation 8, The National Art Center Tokyo, 7 Aug 2023.

Anime and the Cultural Heritage of Rivers, Society for Animation Studies Annual Conference 2023, Rowan University, New Jersey, Jun 12, 2023

A Riposte from America: Monsterpiece Theater as a Satire of America’s Love-Hate Relationship with Highbrow Culture, The Evolution Of Jim Henson’s Puppetry: From Analogue Craft To Digital Franchising Symposium, 9 September 2022, University Of Bristol, UK.

Motion dépaysement: The Rotoscoping Experimental Animation of Hirotoshi Iwasaki, Society for Animation Studies Annual Conference, 30 June 2022, Teesside University, UK.

Nature in Flux: The Aesthetics of Impermanence in the Video Installations of Mami Kosemura, Cinematic Ecosystems Panel, The Annual Conference of the Film Studies Association of Canada (FSAC), (13 May 2022), Congress 2022 (online) Canada.

The Art of Gesture: The Legacy of Traditional Puppet Theatre in the Stop Motion of Jiří Trnka and Kihachirō Kawamoto, Society for Animation Studies Annual Conference (5 July 2017) Padova, Italy

Japanese Women Behind the Scenes, Guest Lecturer at Camera Japan Festival, Rotterdam (25 September 2015).
The Art of Self Promotion: Japanese Auteur Animation in the Internet Age, Film and Moving Images from Japan NOW - Film in the New Media Ecology, Kinema Club XV at Nippon Connection Film Festival in Frankfurt, Germany (6 June 2015).

Nature, Nostalgia and Sustainability: The Satoyama Concept in the Films of Studio Ghibli, Exploring 30 Years of Studio Ghibli: Spirited Discussions, A Cardiff University and UEA collaborative project, Cardiff University (18 April 2015).

Ecocritical Views of Satoyama in Japanese Popular Culture. Perception and Valuation of Satoyama Ecosystems: Approaches from Natural Sciences, Economics, and the Arts, Japan-German SATOYAMA Forum 2014 in Fukui City, Japan (31 August 2014).

Distorted Memories: Akino Kondoh’s Artistic Journey through Illustration, Painting, Manga, and Animation. “Adaptation: Animation, Comics and Literature.” Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film, Literaturhaus, Stuttgart, Germany (24 April 2014).

Inuit Film and Animation. Gesellschaft für Kanada-Studien Conference, Grainau, Germany (24 February 2013).

Inuit Animation Workshop: Teaching Inuit Storytelling through Animation, Canada and the USA: North American Politics, Culture, and Society, Weilburg, Germany (8-10 November 2012).

NFB.ca: Innovative Media for the Classroom, Teacher’s Workshop on Canadian Studies, Germany, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Marburg, Germany (22 June 2012).
Kihachirō Kawamoto's Quest for the Ultimate Expression of Puppets. Nippon Connection, Frankfurt am Main, Germany (4 May 2012).

Fantastic Imaginations: Independent Animated Shorts, Nippon Connection, Frankfurt am Main, Germany (11 June 2023).

Resonance – A Selection of Japanese Animated Shorts, Nippon Connection, Frankfurt am Main, Germany (29 May 2022).　

Alteration Finds – A Selection of Japanese Animated Shorts, Nippon Connection ONLINE, Frankfurt am Main, Germany (1-6 June 2021).

Constant Metamorphosis – Independent Animated Shorts by Women, animation by Makiko Sukihara, Yoko Yuki, Lisa Fukaya and Sarina Nihei, Nippon Connection ONLINE, Frankfurt am Main, Germany (9-18 June 2020).

Transience – The Best of Recent Indie Animation, Ryōji Yamada (guest), Nippon Connection, Frankfurt am Main, Germany (2 June 2019).

　 Music of the Visual World: Japanese Indie Animated Shorts, Yuki Hayashi (guest), Nippon Connection, Frankfurt am Main, Germany (3 June 2018).

Poetic Landscapes – Recent Gems in Japanese Indie Animation, featuring animator Hayato Nove (guest), Nippon Connection, Frankfurt am Main, Germany (28 May 2017).

A Wild Patience – Indie Animated Shorts by Women, Maya Yoneshō (guest), Nippon Connection, Frankfurt am Main, Germany (29 May 2016).

Everything Visible – Japanese Indie Animated Shorts, Yuki Hayashi (guest), Nippon Connection, Frankfurt am Main, Germany (7 June 2015).

Kōji Yamamura Retrospective and Filmmaker’s Talk with Kōji Yamamura, Nippon Connection, Frankfurt am Main, Germany (30 May 2014).

Spaces in Between: Indie Animated Shorts from Japan, Atsushi Wada (guest), Nippon Connection, Frankfurt am Main, Germany (3 May 2012).

Filmmaker’s Talk with Atsushi Wada (Director of The Great Rabbit), Nippon Connection, Frankfurt am Main, Germany (3 May 2012).

Filmmaker’s Talk Special: Independent Animation with Mirai Mizue, Nobuaki Doi, and Takeshi Nagata. Nippon Connection, Frankfurt am Main, Germany (29 April 2011).