Kari Skogland is a Canadian filmmaker. In 2016, she co-founded independent production company Mad Rabbit. She directed all of the episodes of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, a television miniseries for Marvel Studios.
Career Skogland started as an editor. Then she moved on to directing, starting with award-winning television commercials and music videos. Then she became a director of television shows, beginning with an episode of 1994's Dead at 21 and five episodes of 1996's Traders. Traders was nominated for several Geminis including Best Director, and won Best Series.
Her first film, The Size of Watermelons, won the Silver Award at WorldFest Houston. Her CBC film White Lies was nominated for several Geminis and an International Emmy and won a Tout Ecran. She also directed 50 Dead Men Walking starring Sir Ben Kingsley, Jim Sturgess and Rose McGowan in March 2009. She directed episodes of Boardwalk Empire, The Borgias and in 2014 the miniseries Sons of Liberty and episodes of the History Channel's Vikings. In 2017 and 2018, she directed several memorable episodes of Hulu's original series, The Handmaid's Tale, including the Season 1 finale. She described her process for directing the show as, "Communication, curiosity and being open to an outcome that is different from what I have planned."
Skogland has spoken out about the glass ceiling for women directors in the film industry. Speaking about the production of The Handmaid's Tale in 2018, she said, "People say they can’t find female directors, but the reason for that is there’s no access, no entry point. They don’t appear overnight—you have to create a space where they can grow and be discovered."
In 2021, Skogland was announced as the new director for the upcoming Cleopatra biopic for Sony Pictures, starring Gal Gadot, replacing Patty Jenkins who would still produce the film, though it never came to fruition. In November 2022, Skogland signed on to direct Wind River: The Next Chapter.
Personal life Born in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, Kari Skogland is married to film editor Jim Munro. They met circa 1979 when Skogland applied to be Munro's assistant, which led to Skogland getting the job and the two also starting a personal relationship. They have two daughters, MacKenzie and Aislin.
Filmography Film Year Title Director Writer Producer1996The Size of Watermelons 1997Men with Guns 2000I'll Wave Back 2002Liberty Stands Still 2004Chicks with Sticks 2007The Stone Angel 2008Fifty Dead Men Walking TBAWind River: The Next Chapter
Direct-to-video Children of the Corn 666: Isaac's Return (1999)
Television Year Title Director Executiveproducer Notes1994Dead at 21 Episode "Gone Daddy Gone"1994–95Catwalk 6 episodes1995Heritage Minutes 2 episodes1996Traders 5 episodes1997La Femme Nikita Episode "Charity"1998Sins of the City Episode "The Hurt Business"The Crow: Stairway to Heaven 2 episodes2000Family Law Episode "The Witness"2001–03Queer as Folk 3 episodes2004The L Word Episode "Listen Up"2005Terminal City 2 episodes2009–12The Listener 8 episodes2009Cra$h & Burn 2 episodes2010Shattered Directed 2 episodes2011Being Erica Episode "Being Ethan"Endgame Episode "Polar Opposites"2012Boardwalk Empire Episode "Blue Bell Boy"2012–13The Borgias 6 episodes2013The Killing Episode "Seventeen"Under the Dome Episodes "Outbreak", "The Endless Thirst"Longmire Episode "A Good Death is Hard to Find"Copper Episode "Beautiful Dreamer"2014Once Upon a Time in Wonderland Episode "And They Lived..."Vikings 2 episodesPower 2015Penny Dreadful Episode "Memento Mori"Tyrant Episode "The Other Brother"Fear the Walking Dead Episodes "Not Fade Away", "Cobalt"The Bastard Executioner Episode "Piss Profit / Proffidwyr Troeth"2016House of Cards Episode "Chapter 50"The Americans Episode "The Rat"2016–17The Walking Dead 2 episodes2017The Punisher Episode "Resupply"2017–18The Handmaid's Tale 5 episodes2018Condor 2 episodes2019NOS4A2 2025Smoke Episode "Pilot"
Miniseries Year Title Director Executiveproducer Notes2010Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures 2 episodes2015Sons of Liberty 2019The Rook 2 episodes2019The Loudest Voice Directed 3 episodes2021The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
TV movies Year Title Director Producer Writer1998Nothing Too Good for a Cowboy 1998White Lies 2000The Courage to Love 2000Nature Boy 2001Zebra Lounge 2003Riverworld 2006Banshee 2006Rapid Fire
Partial Accolades
Directors Guild of Canada Awards - Outstanding Achievement In Direction - Television Series - Winner - Terminal City - Episode 5
References
External links
Kari Skogland on Directors Guild of Canada