---
name: "Matia Karrell"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/matia-karrell"
fi1m_id: "matia-karrell"
imdb_id: "nm0440105"
tmdb_id: 175527
wikidata_id: "Q6787394"
roles: ["Director"]
born: "1 January 2000"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 2
average_fi1m_score: 84
average_as: "director"
average_over: 2
updated: "2026-09-17T17:26:07.832398+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Matia Karrell

## Identity

Matia Karrell

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/matia-karrell
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** matia-karrell
- **IMDb ID:** nm0440105
- **TMDB ID:** 175527
- **Wikidata ID:** Q6787394
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matia_Karrell, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6787394, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0440105/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/175527

Director. Born 1 January 2000 in Boston.

## Details

- **Work:** Director
- **Born:** 1 January 2000, Boston
- **Active:** 1988–1999
- **Frequently works with:** [Arlene Sanford](https://film.one/person/arlene-sanford.md), [Bryan Gordon](https://film.one/person/bryan-gordon.md), [Thomas Schlamme](https://film.one/person/thomas-schlamme.md)
- **Academy Awards:** 1 Oscar nomination
- **Average Fi1m score:** 84, as director, over 2 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1980s 82 (1), 1990s 86 (1)
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matia_Karrell, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6787394, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0440105/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/175527

## Streaming the US now

- **HBO Max:** [*The West Wing*](https://film.one/tv/the-west-wing.md) (86)
- **Disney+:** [*The Wonder Years*](https://film.one/tv/the-wonder-years.md) (82)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Biography

Matia Karrell is an American film and television director, producer and screenwriter. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, of Lebanese parents, she initially trained as a modern dancer, attending the dance programme at Harvard University before moving to New York, where she performed at the Brooklyn Academy of Music with Robert Wilson.

She began her film career as an assistant director on features including *Matewan* (1987) and *Critters* (1986). Karrell made her directorial debut with the short film *Cadillac Dreams* (1988), which she wrote, directed and produced; it received an Academy Award nomination for Best Live Action Short Film. Her television directing credits include episodes of *The Wonder Years* (1988), *Parenthood* (1990), *Doogie Howser, M.D.* (1989) and *The West Wing* (1999). She directed, co-wrote and produced the feature film *Behind the Red Door* (2003).

Karrell is a Fulbright Scholar and has received fellowships including the AFI Women Directors Fellowship and the Disney-ABC Directing Fellowship. She is a member of the Directors Guild of America and has taught graduate film at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena.

*Sources: imdb.com, en.wikipedia.org, thereddoorfilms.film, cms.artcenter.edu.*

## On Fi1m (2)

- *The West Wing* (1999), Fi1m 86, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/the-west-wing.md)
- *The Wonder Years* (1988), Fi1m 82, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/the-wonder-years.md)

## Complete filmography (12)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound* (2019), Production Manager
- *Safety* (2019), Executive Producer
- *The Tale* (2018), Supervising Producer, Production Supervisor
- *Once Upon a Wedding* (2005), Director
- *Behind the Red Door* (2003), Writer, Director, Producer
- *The West Wing* (1999), series, Director — Fi1m 86, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-west-wing.md)
- *The Wonder Years* (1988), series, Director — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-wonder-years.md)
- *Cadillac Dreams* (1988), Story, Director
- *Matewan* (1987), First Assistant Director
- *Critters* (1986), Assistant Director
- *A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy's Revenge* (1985), First Assistant Director
- *Separate Ways* (1981), Electrician

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 0 won, 1 nominated

- 1989: Best Live Action Short Film (nominated), for *Cadillac Dreams*

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/matia-karrell