The Catties 2026
Our year always ends with an immense celebration. Firstly, The Catties celebrates the gold standard of the year, such as Best Film or Best Large Scale Project – with 15 awards up for grabs. The Pulse party begins soon after, with performances, installations and DJ sets that carry the hectic energy of the evening into the late night.
This year, students Anka and Malte guest wrote this blog, giving their impressions of the party.
The Catties
by Anka Kiladze
The annual Catties ceremony recognises students whose projects demonstrate creativity, experimentation and collaboration – it's the highlight of every year for Catalyst’s community.
On a sunny Friday in May students, tutors and collaborators gathered to support and to celebrate this year’s creative community: artists, filmmakers, producers and performers.
Celebrating multidisciplinary creativity that pushes boundaries
Nominations were across a range of different categories, including collaborative projects, individual awards and at least one award for each creative discipline taught here.
Some awards hold special meaning for our community, such as The Catalyst Spirit Award that celebrates students who strengthen community through collaboration, networking and generosity. This year’s Catalyst Spirit Award was awarded to Abigail McConnell. The tribute to fearless experimentation and boundary-pushing production is the Golden Gorilla Award, won by Nora Anderson – who created “two boldly audacious films this year, fuelled by personal stories from their own life. Unabashed and rebellious. A punk-hearted approach to filmmaking and going against the grain, yet still fulfilling the academic obligations”, said Certificate Lead Juli Saragosa.
Second year Mariska Koruba swept the film awards, taking both Best Film – which comes with a €1,000 distribution support, helping Mariska’s films get seen by the right audience – as well as the Vision Award. The Vision Award was copresented by Programme Lead Leandro Goddinho and Film Production alumni Jayden Bailey, and came with a €1,000 equipment rental voucher at SeeYouRent.
Inés Suero received the Best Creator, Zoe Abou Nader was awarded New Visions Award for “I Like to Fly” originality and distinctive audiovisual voice and Nayana Jayasinghege won Best Actor.
“Thank you Catalyst, really thank you so much just for existing. Without you, a person like me would have never had a chance in this field. Just getting an opportunity to pursue the career that you desire, I think that should be the biggest achievement more than any other award. Thank you Catalyst for doing things differently.”
— Nayana Jayasinghege, winner of Best Actor.
Laura Brieva Diaz was awarded Producer of the year award for creativity, precision and a distinctive artistic voice, while the Best Large Scale Project award went to Martha Theuma. Danny Howlett was recognised as Outstanding Collaborator for their teamwork and creative energy helping to shape a thriving musical community. Elle Sussman’s boldness, innovation and fearless approach to electronic music earned the Outstanding Creative Vision award. Kyung Je Jang’s abilities at bringing exceptional interdisciplinary ideas to life within the audio-visual field earned them an Outstanding Achievement award. Khai Zhang’s courage, patience and dedication needed to forge new directions in artistic research earned them the The New Directions award.
The atmosphere of the night
Beyond the awards and nominations themselves, the atmosphere of the evening became one of the defining parts of The Catties 2026. The ceremony carried an energetic and playful vibe, supported by live gigs, performances and constant audience engagement that kept the room lively throughout the whole night. Unlike a formal awards presentation, this event unfolded more like a collective creative showcase… It felt spontaneous, lively, fun and deeply collaborative.
What stood out to me most was the sense of support and genuine celebration that moved throughout the space. Students, as well as tutors and other attendees celebrated one another enthusiastically, cheering on nominees, applauding and sharing achievements regardless of the programme and the level. It was the kind of environment everyone would want to be included in.
The evening reflected the supportive environment that continues to shape Catalyst, where experimentation and expression is always encouraged, creative work is strengthened through collaboration, milestones and celebrations.
The Sponsors
Alongside recognition, awards included additional prizes such as: a full studio day booking at specialist locations, equipment, external masterclasses and industry distribution support. Thank you to those sponsoring our community's efforts over the last year.
Pulse 2026 – one night with multiple frequencies
by Malte Weber
Warm air drifted through the open doors beside Catalyst's Social Stage as the first DJ sets of the evening spread across the courtyard outside. Under fairy lights and the early evening sun, our community gathered around the ping pong tables, moved between dancefloors and turned Funkhaus into one of Catalyst's biggest gatherings of the year.
The annual end of year celebration featured two stages – the open-air Social Stage, focused on DJs and live electronic performances, and the Glorious Room of Noise, which explored more experimental and bass-heavy sound experiences. Alongside the music line-up, smaller “side quests” across the school included photography displays, installations, art exhibits and a vinyl market.
On the Social Stage, early live performances from Tolansky and jjosiiah brought a more atmospheric start to the night before later DJ sets gradually pushed the energy further into heavier club territory. Sets from Mira b2b 1553hz and menicx brought a faster and more club-focused energy to the courtyard stage, gradually pulling more people toward the dancefloor as the night went on.
Most people mingled outside throughout the night – the summer heat keeping the doors permanently open, spilling music through to the courtyard. Groups constantly formed and dissolved between conversations, drinks and spontaneous table tennis matches.
Deeper inside the building, much more experimental performances were taking place.
The Glorious Room of Noise hosted some of the evening's heaviest performances, built around massive speaker stacks and bass-heavy experimental sound design. Artists like JKZQ, Para Vak and urth filled the room with distorted textures, industrial sounds and deep low frequencies that could already be heard vibrating through the hallway outside.
One of the most intense moments came during Eliad Vagner's live set. As the bass grew heavier, parts of the room physically shook together with the sound. Some people stepped back toward the walls while others stood directly in front of the speakers, completely absorbed by the pressure and intensity of the performance.
"It genuinely felt like the room was moving at some points... You'd go outside for a break but somehow end up going straight back in"
Sameep John, Film Production student
Performances from Eukaryota and Parallel Processing continued pushing the experimental side of the lineup through distorted rhythms, heavy bass and immersive live sound textures.
That contrast between the open atmosphere outside and the darker, more immersive spaces inside became one of the defining parts of Pulse 2026. Guests moved constantly between DJ sets, listening spaces and side rooms while music carried through hallways and different parts of the venue blended together throughout the night.
The Catties 2025 weren’t just about the accolades – they were a reminder that creativity is collaboration, that risk leads to resonance and that sometimes, dancing is just as essential as directing.
Congratulations to all the nominees, the winners, the behind-the-scenes fixers and the spark-throwers. You made it one for the books.
