User:Kmbelas/sandbox

Katia Belas graduated with a degree in Fine Arts from Federal University of Rio De Janeiro Brazil. Since that time, she has worked in theater and has also taught Scene Design, Costume Design and Basic Lighting for Theatre at the Criar Institute in Brazil. While in Brazil, she was invited to assist the producer of Brazilian Singer Elaine Guedes for her concert at the Municipal Theatre of Niteroi, RJ as well as the producer of Ricky Martin's concert on Feb. 2nd, 1997, in Rio De Janeiro. Because of her work at his concert, the management staff of Ricky Martin also invited her to assist them personally during the shoot of a Pepsi-Cola commercial in which Ricky Martin starred.

Katia's passion for film producing was realized in a course given by the filmmaker Chris Rodrigues from which she ended up producing two shorts and assisting in one feature still in Brazil. She went to America to improve her skills in film producing by taking a certificated program of courses in Film and TV at UCLA Extension, which has lead her to Internships in TV and Film productions such as Crush (2000) from USA Network, Jane Bond (2001), a short film from Trillion Entertainment. She has worked on various independent projects such as 'Crazy Jane' (digital feature), in which she held the position of 2nd Assistant Director, and 'Sin in My Eyes' (also a digital feature), in which she held the position of 1st Assistant Director.

Katia's experience has also afforded her the opportunity to work in the production offices of Lynda Obst (Lynda Obst Productions), based out of Paramount Pictures, and in the personal office of Executive Producer Dan Halsted (Halsted Pictures) (Witchblade(2000), The Day Reagan Was Shot (2001) etc.).

In 2013, Katia has fallen in love with ASL (American Sign Language) and has been working with Deaf actors and crew, producing some of the most inspiring films of her career. "The Strength Within You" film-series has evolved into a many opportunities including, writing, directing, editing and acting, as she creates some empowering messages through the art of motion pictures.