Catherine Lurie’s journey began in South Africa, where her instinct for truth and her determination to give voice to the unheard led her into journalism at an early age. After leaving university, she joined Associated Newspapers and quickly made her mark, becoming one of the youngest investigative journalists for the South African Sunday Times and Business Times. Even then, Catherine understood the power of storytelling — not merely to inform, but to illuminate human truths and challenge injustice.
Her career soon expanded beyond print. She trained with the BBC and went on to produce a series of short documentary films profiling remarkable athletes, including Ryder Cup captain Bernard Gallacher, a record-setting young British squash player, and a Paralympic gold-medal swimmer from Beijing. Each story sharpened her belief that real people — not institutions — were the true carriers of history, hope, and heroism.
As her voice grew, so did her platform. Catherine moved to Europe, where she reported as the European Correspondent for New York’s JBS television network and became a UK-based member of the Foreign Press Association. Determined to keep widening the lens, she launched Luria Media in London — a company dedicated to creating inspiring, visually compelling content with a distinctly positive message. Whether through film, television, or documentary work, Luria Media seeks to bring people together through creative collaboration, offering fresh perspectives on the stories that connect us across time and culture.
While her projects continued to evolve, Catherine found herself increasingly drawn to subjects rooted in justice, memory, and moral responsibility. She began expanding her media work to confront issues close to her heart, including the silent struggles of war veterans and the growing crisis of dementia — causes she felt demanded both empathy and exposure.
Then, in 2013, one assignment changed everything. While working as a TV correspondent covering the Maccabiah Games — often called the Jewish Olympics — in Israel, Catherine learned that Germany would soon host the Jewish Summer Games at the infamous 1936 Waldbühne Stadion in Berlin, the very site of Hitler’s Olympic spectacle. The symbolism struck her immediately. The idea of a Jewish sporting event returning to a stadium built for Nazi propaganda was, to Catherine, history folding back on itself — a moment weighted with irony, courage, and unresolved memory.
It was here that she conceived the idea for 'Back to Berlin'. She recognized that this was more than a sporting story; it was a journey into the past — an opportunity to confront old wounds, reclaim stolen narratives, and bear witness on behalf of a generation nearly erased. She knew it had to be documented.
From South African newsrooms to European broadcast studios, and from intimate human-interest films to global historical narratives, Catherine Lurie’s work has remained united by a single conviction: stories can heal, challenge, provoke, and unite. Through Luria Media and her ongoing film projects, she continues to search for the moments that define us — past, present, and future — and to bring them to light with compassion, clarity, and cinematic force.
