Karena Evans

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Karena Evans
Born (1995-12-17) December 17, 1995 (age 28)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
NationalityCanadian
Occupations
Years active2016–present
Websitekarenaevans.com

Karena Evans (born December 17, 1995) is a Canadian director and actress. She garnered recognition for directing the music videos for

In My Feelings". Evans won the 2018 Much Music Video Award for Best Director and became the first woman to receive the Prism Prize's Lipsett Award for music video direction.[1]

Evans has acted in the television series

HBO Max Gossip Girl reboot.[5]

Career

Directing

Evans began her career in the music industry as an intern for Director X.[6] She was eventually signed as a director to his music video production company, Popprok.[7][8] Since then, Evans has directed music videos for numerous artists, including Belly and Sean Paul.[9] She has also directed commercials for Nike, Inc., including a Black Lives Matter short for the brand.[10][11]

Evans garnered attention in early 2018 when she directed the music video for

In My Feelings".[19][20]

In late 2018, Evans earned

MTV Video Music Award nominations for her work on Drake's videos.[21] She ultimately won Best Director at the 2018 iHeartRadio MMVAs for her work on "God's Plan".[22] In 2020, Evans was placed on BET's "Future 40" list, which is a list of “40 of the most inspiring and innovative vanguards who are redefining what it means to be unapologetically young, gifted, and black”.[23]

Acting

As an actress, Evans began her career in 2016 with a role in a short film called WhiteWoods. In 2018, she starred in two feature films, Michael Sucsy's Every Day and Jasmin Mozaffari's Firecrackers, opposite Michaela Kurimsky, the latter of which premiered at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival.[24] That same year, she also performed a recurring role in the Canadian television series Mary Kills People.[25]

Influences

Evans is the younger sister of

Jordan Evans, a producer who has worked with several successful artists, and was inspired by him to pursue her passion.[26] Evans has stated that she is heavily influenced by Melina Matsoukas, whom she called her "hero" in an interview with Billboard.[21] Evans hopes to be an inspiration for other young black women from her hometown of Toronto.[26]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role
2016 Delta State: Slipping Into the Future Sonya / Jodi Collins
2018 Every Day Hannah / A
Firecrackers Chantal

TV

Year Show Actor Director Notes
2018 Mary Kills People Yes No Recurring Role (5 episodes)
2020 P-Valley No Yes Episode #1.1 ("Perpetratin')
2020
Swipe Night
 		No Yes Episode #2.1
2021 Snowfall No Yes Episode #4.2
2021 Gossip Girl No Yes Episodes #1.1 and #1.2[27]
2024 Mr. & Mrs. Smith No Yes Episodes #3, 5

Music videos

Year Song Artist Notes
2017 "Mumble Rap" Belly
"The Come Down Is Real Too" Belly
"Run This" PLAZA
2018 "God's Plan"
Drake
"
Nice For What
" 		Drake
"D'Evils" SiR
"Garden (Say It Like Dat)"
SZA
"I'm Upset" Drake
"
In My Feelings
" 		Drake
"Tap Out" Jay Rock
2019 “Everyday Life” Coldplay
2021 "Have Mercy" Chlöe

References

  1. ^ a b "Meet Karena Evans, the first female recipient of Canada's music video direction honour The Lipsett Prize – CBC Radio".
  2. ^ "Karena Evans: How I Made It as a Director and Actor - FLARE". www.flare.com. Archived from the original on July 17, 2020. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  3. ^ "Karena Evans busts through Hollywood ceilings with P-Valley". nowtoronto.com. July 9, 2020. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
  4. ^ "Director Karena Evans on Moving to Television, Working on 'P-Valley' and 'Snowfall' | Watch Less Ep. 37". Complex. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
  5. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (November 2, 2020). "'Gossip Girl': Karena Evans To Direct First Two Episodes Of HBO Max Series Reboot". Deadline. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
  6. ^ "Everything You Need to Know About Drake's 'God's Plan' Video". Billboard.
  7. ^ "Karena Evans – Popp Rok". popprok.com.
  8. ^ "Meet Karena Evans, the 22-Year-Old Music Video Director Behind "Nice for What" – Verge Campus". April 12, 2018.
  9. ^ "Anders' "You for You" Video Showcases a Side of Toronto You've Never Seen". Complex.
  10. ^ a b c "22-Year-Old Filmmaker Karena Evans Helmed Drake's Star-Studded 'Nice For What' Video". shadowandact.com.
  11. ^ "Karena Evans joins M ss ng P eces, RSA signs Sophie Edelstein". April 11, 2018.
  12. ^ Martin, Emmie (February 20, 2018). "Drake gave away entire $1 million budget for God's Plan video". www.cnbc.com. Retrieved April 25, 2019.
  13. ^ Kimball, Whitney (April 7, 2018). "Karena Evans's New Video for Drake Puts Pop to the Bechdel Test".
  14. ^ "This is everything important about Drake's 'Nice for What' music video". April 17, 2018.
  15. ^ "Is Drake's "Nice for What" a Problem for Instagram?". April 13, 2018.
  16. ^ "Karena Evans Named Winner of 2018 Lipsett Award".
  17. ^ Hahn, Rachel (May 18, 2018). "Watch SZA and Her Mom Shine in Her New Music Video". VOGUE. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  18. ^ Ramos, Dino-Ray (May 23, 2018). "WME Signs Director Karena Evans". Deadline. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
  19. ^ "All the Videos From Drake's 'Scorpion' Album Ranked: Critic's Pick". Billboard. Retrieved August 17, 2018.
  20. ^ "Drake Drops "In My Feelings" Video". Complex. Retrieved August 17, 2018.
  21. ^ a b "The New Wave of Music Video Directors Is Here: 10 Fresh Talents Shooting For Drake, Dua Lipa & More". Billboard. Retrieved August 17, 2018.
  22. ^ "Shawn Mendes Dominates iHeartRadio MMVAs 2018". Billboard. Retrieved September 6, 2018.
  23. ^ "BET DIGITAL CELEBRATES BLACK EXCELLENCE WITH NEW ORIGINAL EDITORIAL SERIES". Chicago Defender. February 7, 2020. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
  24. ^ Erbland, Kate (August 1, 2018). "'Firecrackers' First Look: Jasmin Mozaffari's Female-Centric TIFF Premiere Challenges the Patriarchy – Watch". IndieWire. Retrieved August 17, 2018.
  25. ^ "Everything You Need to Know About Drake's 'God's Plan' Video". Billboard. Retrieved August 17, 2018.
  26. ^ a b Epstein, Rachel (August 23, 2018). "Karena Evans Dropped Out of Film School—Then Started Making Music Videos with Drake". Marie Claire. Retrieved April 26, 2019.
  27. ^ "Gossip Girl Season 1 Synopsis". WarnerMedia (Press release). June 28, 2021. Archived from the original on June 28, 2021. Retrieved June 28, 2021.

External links


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