April 2023
In March 2023, CATO MD Kieran Cato took part in the Screen Warriors program as an industry-leading speaker, sharing his expertise in Traffic Management, Security, Location Vehicles and Production Support Crew.
A joint initiative of the Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS) and the Veterans Film Festival (VFF), Screen Warriors is a new program targeted towards ex Navy, Army and Airforce personnel. With the aim of bolstering recruitment in the Aussie film industry, the program is designed to educate veterans about the various jobs available. It’s also an opportunity to connect with industry leaders and aims to facilitate direct pathways to employment.
After a year in the film industry, Kieran founded CATO Location Services in 2012. He saw a gap in the market for crew that understood the intricacies of filming and how a set works. Initially established to provide premium support to the Film, TV and Events industries, CATO has since grown into the largest location services company in Sydney.
An advocate for the Australian film industry, Kieran is passionate about assisting dedicated people to succeed in this exciting and rewarding field. After more than a decade of being in business, CATO have fostered a strong relationship with AFTRS over the years. CATO provide employment pathways for current and ex-students of AFTRS, and offer the perfect gateway into the film world. Providing the practical knowledge and experience that’s needed, we love to see people of all ages, backgrounds and levels of experience come up through the ranks and succeed in the industry.
Industry colleague Robbie Miles, Producing & Production Subject Leader at AFTRS, spent some time with CATO assisting productions as a part of the traffic team.
“I have great memories being a part of those mammoth CATO lockdowns. Working with a dedicated and well-trained team to support large-scale productions safely was excellent experience which I use daily now as a Producer and Subject Leader here at AFTRS.”
After his first time formally speaking at AFTRS, Kieran looks forward to returning in the future and values the unique opportunity which Screen Warriors provide for veterans and film industry employers to connect. Praised as, “a highlight of the 2-day course”, by co-ordinators, and receiving 100% in the post course survey, Kieran’s presentation was extremely well received. Attendees were grateful to hear, “real and relevant examples”, of working in the industry, and found it refreshing being able to, “ask direct questions and receive direct answers.”
“Kieran gave a very in depth look at Unit and Location which had not been previously discussed. He gave a practical approach on how to enter that stream of the industry and an opportunity to move into a role straight away. This again was comforting, when you are leaving Defence applying for a new job can be very daunting.”
Kieran has run various workshops in the past with Create NSW and Screen Works, and has acted as an advisor to government and industry bodies. He recently spent time in Bhutan with Nutopia UK, working on the production Pole to Pole with Will Smith as a traffic, unit and logistics consultant.
You can read more about the Screen Warriors program here.
CATO Group is proud to announce it’s achievement in being named finalists across six categories in the prestigious NSW Business Awards 2025 – Sydney Region.
Earlier this month, CATO Location Services, MD Kieran Cato, alongside Operations Manager Anna Rosa and Senior Account Manager Kate Bennett, had the pleasure of heading to the Gold Coast to take part in Screen Producers Australia’s (SPA) Screen Forever 2025 — one of the nation’s premier industry gatherings for screen professionals. Held annually, Screen Forever continues to offer unmatched opportunities for connection, collaboration, and conversation within the Australian film, television, and content production space.
Craig Hunter joined CATO Location Services back in April 2016, leaving behind a career in engineering. He initially joined CATO in the early days as a Traffic Controller and over the past decade has grown into one of CATO’s most respected leaders— from Senior Unit Manager and now as Traffic Manager.
