In Peter Traver's Rolling Stone review of the Katt Shea film POISON IVY, he writes: “why settle for the usual walk around the exploitation block when Shea offers a wild ride with the top down into uncharted territory?”.

This comment could easily be applied to all of the genre movies that the filmmaker helmed during the 80s and 90s. A pioneering female director who started out working on low budget productions for the king of the B's Roger Corman, Katt Shea made films in this male-dominated world with taut screenplays (which she often co-wrote), snappy dialogue, innovative visuals, thoughtful characterisations and great performances.

With the Museum of Modern Art and the British Film Institute hosting retrospectives of her work, Shea has been recognised as a notable filmmaker and Triskel Arts Centre was delighted to present a selection of her films in October 2025, some of them never before seen on a cinema screen in Ireland. 

Our Head of Cinema Chris O'Neill spoke with Katt about her work.