Matia Karrell

Last updated
Matia Karrell
Born
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Alma mater Harvard University, Brooklyn Academy of Music
Occupation(s)Film/television director, producer, screenwriter
Years active1987–present

Matia Anne Karrell is an American film and television director, producer, and screenwriter. She is best known for directing the 1988 short film Cadillac Dreams, which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Short Film. [1]

Contents

Career

Karrell is a native of Boston, Massachusetts, born of Lebanese parents. She had aspirations to pursue a career as a dancer, attending the dance program at Harvard University. She then moved to New York City, where she trained under dancers Hanya Holm and Martha Graham. She performed at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) with renowned theater director, visual artist, and playwright Robert Wilson, in The Dollar Value of Man. [2]

Karrell eventually left choreography and dance to pursue interests in the film industry. She worked as an electrician in her earlier films such as Without Warning (1980), The Howling (1981), China Lake (1983), and Dreamscape (1984). She then moved on to assistant director in Breakin' (1984), Making the Grade (1984), Critters , (1986) Matewan (1987) and Far North (1988). She was Spike Lee's Production Manager in his film School Daze (1988). In 1988, Karrell wrote, directed, and produced the live-action short film Cadillac Dreams, which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Short Film [1] and a Gold Hugo at the Chicago International Film Festival.

Karrell collaborated as a writer and producer with British director and producer Mike Newell at Dogstar Films, on developing "The Story of V". [3] In 2002, she directed, co-wrote, and co-produced the full length feature film Behind the Red Door starring Kiefer Sutherland, Kyra Sedgwick and Stockard Channing, which took First Prize for Best Feature Film Screenplay at the Rhode Island International Film Festival [4] and was a finalist in the PEN Center USA Literary Awards.

Among Karrell's long list of other film credits are Once Upon a Wedding (2005) starring Esai Morales and A Martinez, The Tub (2009) starring Melora Hardin and Dedee Pfeiffer, Finding Sahara (2014), Lilly and James (2016), Safety (2018), and The Tale (2018) starring Laura Dern, Ellen Burstyn and Elizabeth Debicki.

Karrell also worked on episodic television, directing episodes of The Wonder Years , Doogie Howser, M.D. , Parenthood , Sweet Valley High , The West Wing , American Heiress and Army Wives . [5]

Recently, Karrell collaborated with directors Luann Barry, Marty Elcan, Liz Hinlein, and Paige Morrow Kimball, on Cal State University Northridge (CSUN) gender and women’s studies professor, Dianne Bartlow's film, Making LA Happen. The film was produced "with the goal of turning gender stereotypes on their head and normalizing women in top-level government jobs.". [6] [7] The film was well-received and earned the 2017 Radio, Television/Cable International CINDY Silver Award.

Karrell has received a number of prestigious fellowships including the Fulbright, John Wells Directing Fellowship, American Film Institute (AFI) Women Director's Fellowship, [8] and the Disney-ABC Directing Fellowship, [9] and is a member of the Directors Guild of America, Writers Guild of America, Women in Film and Television International, American Film Institute, Alliance of Women Directors, and GreenLight Women.

She is a professor in the Graduate Directing Film Program at the ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, CA, and is the Owner/Founder of THE RED DOOR FILMS, based in Los Angeles.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Film Institute</span> Nonprofit educational arts organization

The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kathryn Bigelow</span> American filmmaker (born 1951)

Kathryn Ann Bigelow is an American filmmaker. Bigelow has received numerous accolades including two Academy Awards, two BAFTA Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award. Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mare Winningham</span> American actress and singer-songwriter (born 1959)

Mary Megan Winningham, known professionally as Mare Winningham, is an American actress and singer-songwriter. She is the recipient of two Primetime Emmy Awards and has been nominated for an Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and two Tony Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paula Wagner</span> American film producer

Paula Kauffman Wagner is an American film producer and film executive. Her most recent credits include the film Marshall starring Chadwick Boseman, Kate Hudson, Sterling K. Brown, and Josh Gad as well as the Broadway, West End, and US Tour productions of Pretty Woman: The Musical.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raymond De Felitta</span> American independent film director, screenwriter and musician

Raymond De Felitta is an American independent film director, screenwriter, musician, blogger and podcaster.

Betsy Beers is an American television and film producer whose credits include ShondaLand's Grey's Anatomy,Scandal,Private Practice, How to Get Away with Murder, The Catch, Station 19, For the People, and Bridgerton.

Dogstar is an Australian animated television series produced by Media World Pictures which first screened on the Nine Network in 2006, and then Disney Channel Australia. There are 26 episodes in each season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gustavo Hernández Pérez</span> Venezuelan film director

Gustavo Hernández Pérez is a Venezuelan film director and writer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pamela Fryman</span> American television producer and director (born 1959)

Pamela Gail Fryman is an American sitcom director and producer. She directed all but twelve episodes of the television series How I Met Your Mother.

Nayereh Esfahlani Tohidi is an Iranian-born American professor, researcher, and academic administrator. Tohidi is a professor emerita and former chair of gender and women’s studies, and the founding director of the Middle Eastern and Islamic studies at California State University, Northridge.

Mary Lou Belli is an American television director and author.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tami Gold</span> American film director

Tami Kashia Gold is a documentary filmmaker, visual artist and educator. She is also a professor at Hunter College of the City University of New York in the Department of Film and Media Studies.

Victoria Greene Hochberg is an American film and television director and writer. She was one of the Original Six, a group of women directors who created the Women's Steering Committee of the Directors Guild of America, to protest against gender discrimination in Hollywood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kevin Costner filmography</span>

American actor, director, and producer Kevin Costner started his acting career in 1981 by starring in the romantic comedy independent film Sizzle Beach, U.S.A. He went on to appear in the films Testament (1983), and Shadows Run Black (1984) before co-starring in the 1985 ensemble western film Silverado alongside Kevin Kline, Scott Glenn, and Danny Glover. The same year, he starred in the comedy film Fandango with Judd Nelson, as well as American Flyers with David Marshall Grant. In 1987, Costner starred as Eliot Ness in the crime film The Untouchables with Robert De Niro and Sean Connery. The following year, he starred as Crash Davis in the romantic comedy sports film Bull Durham with Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins. The film is on AFI's 10 Top 10 for Greatest Sports Movies. Costner then starred in the sports fantasy drama film Field of Dreams with James Earl Jones. The film received generally positive reviews from critics, and was nominated for three Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Original Score and Best Adapted Screenplay. In 2017, it was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". It's also on AFI's 10 Top 10 for Greatest Fantasy Movies.

Marion "Muffie" Meyer is an American director, whose productions include documentaries, theatrical features, television series and children’s films. Films that she directed are the recipients of two Emmy Awards, CINE Golden Eagles, the Japan Prize, Christopher Awards, the Freddie Award, the Columbia-DuPont, and the Peabody Awards. Her work has been selected for festivals in Japan, Greece, London, Edinburgh, Cannes, Toronto, Chicago and New York, and she has been twice nominated by the Directors Guild of America.

Gabriela Tagliavini is an Argentinian writer/director best known for her feature films Tequila Repasado,Christmas With You, Without Men, Perfect Lover, and Ladies' Night, She is a member of the Directors Guild of America (DGA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julia Reichert</span> American filmmaker and activist (1946–2022)

Julia Bell Reichert was an American Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker, activist, and feminist. She was a co-founder of New Day Films. Reichert's filmmaking career spanned over 50 years as a director and producer of documentaries.

Sue Maslin is an Australian screen producer. She is best known for her feature films Road to Nhill (1997) Japanese Story (2003) and The Dressmaker (2015).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kelley Kali</span> American director, actor, writer, and producer

Kelley Kali is an American director, actor, writer, and producer. She is the creator of the 2021 indie film I'm Fine , which has won several awards in the film festival circuit. Other directing credits include Lalo's House (2018), Kemba (2022), and Jagged Mind (2023).

References

  1. 1 2 "Academy Award nomination for Matia Karrell SHORT FILM (Live Action) -- Cadillac Dreams". Oscars.org. Archived from the original on April 15, 2013. Retrieved February 8, 2012.
  2. ↑ Wilson, Robert Robert Wilson: The Theater of Images
  3. ↑ "Dogstar unveils slate of pix at home, away". Variety. 16 May 1997. Retrieved November 15, 2009.
  4. ↑ "2002 Film Festival Award Winners". Rhode Island Film Festival. Retrieved November 15, 2009.
  5. ↑ "The Vicious Cycle Holding Female Directors Back". Buzzfeed. 2 April 2017. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
  6. ↑ "CSUN Professor's Award-Winning Film, Television Project Explores Leadership Position Gender Bias". California State University Northridge. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
  7. ↑ "A Roundtable with AWD Directors on "Making LA Happen"". Alliance of Women Directors. 30 April 2018. Retrieved June 30, 2018.
  8. ↑ "AFI Directing Workshop for Women". American Film Institute. Retrieved January 4, 2014.
  9. ↑ "2008-2009 DISNEY/ABC DGA DIRECTORS". Directors Guild of America. Retrieved March 8, 2014.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.