Rising Stars: Meet Karin Hallén of Los Angeles

Today we’d like to introduce you to Karin Hallén.

Hi Karin, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I’ve always been involved in creative endeavors, but discovered screenwriting and directing later in life. I’ve worked as an actor and model for many years, but always felt drawn to work behind the camera. It took me many years to believe in myself enough to give it a go, though. But once I had written my first script, which got me hired to write a feature for a production company, I knew I’d found what I wanted to do. That was a decade ago. Since then, I’ve written scripts for producers in Germany, the US, and Sweden. I’ve also written for Swedish TV. I currently have two scripts in development with US companies. I directed a few shorts before the pandemic, but started pursuing directing seriously in 2023 when I was hired to direct 5 music videos for different artists. I realized that I love it, that it suits me, and that it’s something I want to do a lot more of. I co-directed my first feature this fall, which was a fantastic experience. We just wrapped a few weeks ago.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It’s definitely not been a smooth or straight road for me. First of all, it took me many years to figure out what I wanted to do in life. Once I did, I found myself in an incredibly competitive industry. I’ve struggled a lot with self-doubt since I didn’t go to film school. I’ve also been self-conscious about being too old to get in the game as a screenwriter/director. In addition, I think that being Swedish and, like most Swedes, very (too) polite, has also slowed me down and caused me to miss opportunities. But I’m gradually overcoming these internal challenges and have come to realize that the truth is what we always hear, that nobody is stopping us but ourselves. On a more practical note, it’s an industry with a lot of job insecurity, and it has definitely required some juggling to stay available for opportunities while still making sure to have a stable foundation to operate from.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’m primarily a screenwriter and director now, though I see myself as a multi-creative. I still act and model in addition to writing and directing. I have also produced. I think that being open to taking on many different roles in a production and learning the craft of them has helped me become better at all of them. It’s also been really helpful in understanding what the other people on your team are faced with. Having spent a lot of time working in front of the camera has helped me immensely when directing, especially when working with less experienced actors or musicians in music videos.

Hmm, you’re asking me what sets me apart from others. I think that my unique way of seeing and interpreting life and this world sets me apart. And I think my perspective comes from having lived a life filled with many different experiences, which have all taught me a lot and made me see life with curious eyes. I’ve traveled extensively all over the world from a young age, and I’ve explored a vast array of careers before finding my path. I grew up on a farm in Sweden, but I love the dynamics of New York City as much as I love the fields by the farm. I went to law school in Sweden and acting school in New York, I’ve backpacked through Asia and New Zealand, I’ve lived in Tokyo, where I worked as a sketch comedy writer/actor at the Tokyo Comedy store, worked with wine in Sweden, traveled for Jaguar automotives across the US as an auto specialist, been on the reality show She’s Got the Look, which launched a modeling career for me when I was 40. I got a scuba diving license to cure my fear of deep waters and skydived twice. I have met and listened to so many people af all ages from all across the world in different scenarios, and everything I have learnt from them and from my experiences has shaped who I am and the worldview I have. And I think all of it is reflected in what and how I create.

If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
I was a total tomboy when growing up. I was climbing up any tree I could find and playing a lot of sports.
But then, like now, I was an extroverted introvert. I loved reading more than anything, and I consumed any book I could find. When I was 7, I borrowed Chitty Chitty Bang Bang so many times from the library that they gave me the book. I still have it in my bookshelf with a diecast model of the car next to it.
I also loved drawing and writing, and wrote and illustrated my first book when I was five years old. My mom still has it. The story was about a day in the life of a girl named Eva.

My teens were dominated by sports. As soon as I discovered team handball – the European style of handball, not the one you play against a wall – when I was ten years old, I was hooked. I played a lot of other sports, but they all gradually faded into the background as handball took over. I played on a really good team, and from a young age, we not only played in Sweden but also traveled to other European countries to play tournaments. It was a fantastic time that I remember with great joy. I loved the feeling of the team coming together, lifting each other, working for a goal in unison. I think I’ve been looking for that team feeling ever since. Where the sum of the whole is greater than any individual. When you can beat any odds because you have each other’s shoulders to stand on, and you know you have each other’s back. I’m deeply grateful that I had this growing up.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: karin.c.hallen
• Facebook: karin.c.hallen
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karin-hallen-0b05b111/
• Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0356813/

Image Credits
Ricardo Mora
Charles DiMitri