Kristin  Holodak
Professor Kris HolodakMarquette University

Johnston Hall, 514

MilwaukeeWI53201United States of America
(414) 288-4061Heron Media
Curriculum Vitae

Associate Professor, Digital Media and Performing Arts

Education

M.F.A. in Film Production at Boston University
M.S. in Corporate Communication at Ithaca College
B.A. in Broadcasting at SUNY Oswego

Courses Taught

Advanced Production & Portfolio
Cinematography
Corporate Media
Editing Techniques
Introduction to Digital Media Production
Introduction to Scriptwriting
Journalism Tools and Techniques 
Narrative Production
Short Film Producing

Research Interests

Producing and Directing short film
Editing
Cinematography
Scriptwriting

Professional Experience

Kris has created various digital media for employers and clients, including the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Smithsonian Institution, the National Geographic Society, GE, Xerox, and the American Academy of Ophthalmology, among others.

While Kris has more than fifteen years of professional experience, she has always felt at home behind a camera. She discusses her path to becoming a filmmaker here:

Professional Affiliations

Milwaukee Filmmaker Alliance
Milwaukee Film Higher Education Working Group
University Film and Video Association
Women in Film and Video

Honors and Awards

2021 Diederich College Scholar of the Year
2018 Dean's Award for Teaching Excellence

Grandpa's Getaways
Best Screenplay

Take Out
Audience Award for Best Short

Killer
Jury Prize for Best Short Short
Best of the Fest Shorts

Passing
Best of the Fest Shorts

Bewildered
Winner: Experimental Short, Silver

Professional Work and Film Screenings

Expand all   |   Collapse all  

WanderMKE

Co-producer, Cinematographer, Editor
Short series, anticipated 2021, 5 episodes (3 finished, 2 in post-production)

Cracked

Editor
Fiction film, anticipated 2021, 12:25 (in post-production)

However Improbable

Co-writer
Fiction script, anticipated 2022, 101 pages (in revision)

X-ed Out

Co-producer, Cinematographer, Editor
Fiction film, 2021, 9:37 (Currently on festival circuit.)

When a young C.E.O. is found dead, a small-town Lieutenant finds himself caught in the middle as his two main suspects accuse each other of murder.

  • Phoenix International Short Film Festival, Toronto, ON (2021)
  • London Indie Short Festival of 24 Frames (2021)
  • Toronto International Women’s Film Festival (2021)
  • Vancouver Independent Film Festival (2021)
  • Toronto Film Magazine (2021)

The Gardener

Writer
Fiction script, 2020, 10 pages (Currently on festival circuit.)

Evie, a government contractor, gets abducted by spy-on-the-run Georgia. She has to stay alive long enough to decide whether to help Georgia deliver her mysterious package.

Insomnia

Co-writer, Director, Editor
Fiction film, 2020, 7:24 (Currently on the festival circuit.)

After several pandemics sweep the world, a recurring nightmare makes it impossible for a single dad to decipher when he is awake or dreaming during the outbreak of 2024.

  • Quarantini Monthly Film Festival (August 2020)
  • Brooklyn SciFi Film Festival (September 2020)
  • Down East Flick Fest (September 2020)
  • Kalakari Film Fest (May 2021)
  • Vancouver Independent Film Festival (Spring 2021)

Winter Cranes

Co-producer, Cinematographer
Documentary film, 2019, 3:43

A short observational documentary that focuses on the migration of sandhill cranes near Baraboo, WI.

  • Wisconsin Film Festival (2019)
  • Chippewa Valley Film Festival (2019)
  • Free Range Film Festival (2019)
  • Eugene Environmental Film Festival (2019)
  • Milwaukee Short Film Festival (2019)
  • University Film & Video Association (2019)
  • MicroMania Film Festival (2019)
  • Door County Short Film Festival (2020)
  • Wildwood Film Festival (2020)

Grandpa's Getaways

Director, Editor
Fiction film, 2019, 13:06

Will has always been the hero of his own stories in spite of the fact that no one believes him. How much of it is true? And how much does it really matter?

  • Beloit International Film Festival (2019)
  • Short. Sweet. Film Fest (2019)
  • Milwaukee Short Film Fest (2019)
  • Film Girl Film Fest (2019)
  • Tampa Bay Film Society (2019)
  • TvFILM season 12 (2020), Broadcast on WMHT

Fiction script, 2017, 10 pages

  • Oregon Short Film Festival (2017)
  • Short. Sweet. Film Fest (2017)
  • New York International Screenplay Awards (2017)
  • University Film and Video Association (2017)
  • New York Short Film & Screenplay Competition (2017)

Writer
Fiction Script, 2018, 91 pages

Drawn to the beauty and history of the Cape, a recently widowed teacher flounders in her quest to fit in as she strives to prove her paranormal encounters aren't just an outsider's fantasy.

  • Auckland International Film Festival (2018)
  • University Film and Video Association (2018)
  • Massachusetts Independent Film Festival (2018)
  • Stowe Story Labs (2018):
    Narrative Labs, a weeklong development lab for emerging writers. 40 people out of 300 selected.

    Writers’ Retreat, a weeklong intensive for the top 12 projects of the year.

Young of the Year

Writer, Director, Cinematographer, Editor
Documentary film, 2018, 13:31

Between the predators, the tourists, and the long migration ahead life is a challenge for the roseate tern, especially during the first summer of life.

  • Environmental Film Festival in the Nation’s Capital (March 2018)
  • Refuge System Birthday Bash at the National Wildlife Visitor Center (March 2018), invited screening
  • SENE Film Music and Art Festival (April 2018)
  • Brooklyn Bird Club (July 17, 2018), invited screening
  • Science on the Seashore Symposium (September 2018), invited screening
  • Great Lakes Environmental Film Festival (November 2018), invited screening
  • Connecticut Ornithological Association (March 2019), invited screning
  • 2021 Northeast Natural History Conference (April 2021)

Ghost Tours

Writer, Director, Editor
A short fiction film.

  • SENE Film Music & Arts Festival (2015)
  • Balticon Short Film Festival (2015)
  • UFVA Conference (2015)
  • Night of Frights (2015)
  • Los Angeles Women's International Film Festival (2016)
  • Broadcast on WMHT's TvFILM, season 7

Killer

Writer, Director, Editor
A short fiction film.

  • Jamfest Indie Film Festival (2013)
  • SENE Film Music & Arts Festival (2013)
  • Woods Hole Film Festival (2013)
  • We Like ‘Em Short (2013)
  • DC Independent Film Festival (2014)
  • American Online Film Awards (2014)
  • Broadcast on WMHT's TvFILM, season 6

Take Out

Writer, Director, Editor
A short fiction film.

  • SENE Film Music & Arts Festival (2014)
  • Broadcast on WMHT’s TvFILM, season 8

Passing

Writer, Director, Editor
A short fiction film.

  • Balticon Short Film Festival (2011)
  • Woods Hole Film Festival (2011)
  • Southern Appalachian International Film Festival (2011)
  • Utopia Film Festival (2011)
  • Jamfest Indie Film Festival (2011)
  • Broadcast on WMHT's TvFILM season 8

Bewildered

Writer, Director, Editor
A short fiction film.

  • Jamfest Indie Film Festival (2010)
  • Utopia Film Festival (2010)
  • Southern Appalachian International Film Festival (2010)
  • Fort Myers Film Festival (2011)

Doggie Drill Team

Writer, Director, Editor
A short documentary film.

  • DC Shorts (2009)
  • Utopia Film Festival (2009)
  • Bow Wow Film Festival (2016)

Memory Sticks

Writer, Director, Editor
A short fiction film.

  • Dam Short Film Festival (2008)
  • Balticon Short Film Festival (2008)
  • Utopia Film Festival (2008)

 

Why Marquette

 

The Digital Media department at Marquette offers my students and me a wonderful opportunity to explore all the ways in which media gets created and used in the modern age. I can bring to the classroom my experiences making both documentary and narrative films, corporate video, and educational media and use that to broaden my students’ expectations and opportunities.