#162 Christina Raia and Kelsey Rauber

Christina Raia is a New York City based Writer/Director, the Founder of CongestedCat Productions, and the Head of Education at Seed&Spark. She was named one of the 10 Filmmakers to Watch in 2018 by Independent Magazine. Her first feature film, Summit, won Best Director at the 2015 Flickers: Rhode Island International Film Festival (genre division). She co-created, directed, and produced the comedic web series "Kelsey." She is currently on the festival circuit with her second feature film, About a Donkey, and has begun pitching the feature, Silent Night, Quarter Finalist at Slamdance's 2016 Screenwriting Competition. She also fostered collaboration and engagement in the local film community into IndieWorks, a monthly film screening series currently in its sixth year.

Kelsey Rauber is a New York-based screenwriter/producer. Kelsey was raised in Aargau, Switzerland in a bilingual household and always had an affinity towards the arts. She moved to New York City in 2008 to pursue music which ignited her love for storytelling. In 2012, Kelsey won first place in the New York City Screenwriting Festival, Comedy division for her feature screenplay "About a Donkey." which also made the semifinals in the 2013 LA Shorts Comedy Screenplay Competition. Kelsey and Christina Raia created the hit web series "Kelsey." It became a critical and viral success leading to a successful crowdfunding campaign for future collaborative endeavors. Kelsey is co-owner of CongestedCat Productions. Under the CongestedCat umbrella, she went on to write and produce two shorts, a comedy pilot, and feature film About a Donkey, which is currently on the festival circuit. She just wrapped her directorial debut, "Revelations," a short beginning festival submissions.