We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Julie Koehnen a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Julie thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

In 2015 I returned to Minnesota many times over the course of the year for my sisters wedding and all the events that go along with it (bridal party shopping, bachelorette party, wedding, etc.) She had moved so when I returned I was taken through a new route which included St. Paul, Minnesota. St. Paul is pretty fascinating with all its history and time resistant architecture. this led me to find Summit Avenue. It’s a historical avenue and there are over 370 preserved mansions from the turn of the century (19th-20th). They are a testament to the enormous wealth that was once concentrated in the upper Midwest. This discovery intersected with my love of history and further emphasized some gaping holes in my knowledge of American history. My education seemed to center around war and with the popularity of Downton Abbey, I was curious what had taken place in America around the same time. I soon became obsessed with a railroad robber baron, oligarch, James J. Hill who had the largest home on Summit Avenue. I was working as an editor at the NFL network at the time but the idea that I wanted to dramatize true events that happened in 1893 soon took over. I spent the summer of 2016 (on break from the NFL) at the Gale library at the Minnesota Historical Society. There I pieced together an incredible story of labor and capitalists. I was also interested because I imagined my ancestors, the Dutch and German who came to America for a better life were fighting this fight. This project was also the impetus I needed to move on from editing, return to the Midwest and begin my life as a filmmaker. It’s led to a polished pilot script for the series which is called Summit Avenue as well as spawned two short films, historical dramas that have done quite well on the festival circuit. I’ve also had some personal writing success as a result of the pilot script.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My first exposure to the entertainment industry came from working in front of the camera. This is where I discovered a passion for what went on behind the camera. I was pretty much far away from the entertainment industry growing up in rural Minnesota, but once I moved to Los Angeles for college, I discovered the entertainment industry. I’ve had some outlier successes that drew me further into the industry. I wrote a script early on, self taught from a USC text book that was ultimately optioned and made into a film. As a filmmaker what I am known for is visually stunning images, compelling, complex narratives, and film scores that are –cinematic. I am highly collaborative and I am looking to get the best out of the people I work with. I want to showcase their work and their talent and to show it in the best possible light. I am also known as extremely hardworking and passionate. What I am most proud of is my first historical drama Master Servant for the scale of the production and the success of the film. I found a very committed, enthusiastic group of donors who continue to support me as I move into feature films. I am ecstatic with the creative community I found here in the Midwest which started with that production.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

My business has come together with a large donor base. People who have understood that at this point (short films) there is no return on investment. I needed to build my reel, in the most basic sense but I’ve had to develop my style and my skills to become a filmmaker that people would give large sums of money to. I’ve also been awarded several grants that have helped me continue to produce films that showcase my skills and talents. The story of how I am now raising the funding for my first feature film is very long but what I have learned is that people, investors want to know you. It is all about personal relationships. Especially in film, the investment is much more meaningful. My investors feel more confident in me the longer I show up and continue to show up. They understand that I am not just here to get the money and go. We are creating something together and they are an important part of that. I also had to learn everything. At a certain point I was waiting for someone to show up to take on what I didn’t know. I soon realized that that was not going to happen. I had to learn everything that I was intimidated by — distribution, investor agreements, large scale budgets and productions. I’ve had to learn it all. Through the pandemic zoom seminars became a huge thing and I gained access to mentors people in the industry that I previously had never heard from. I attended many many seminars from Film Fatales and other organizations helping female filmmakers grow their business.  

We’d love to hear about you met your business partner.

I remember asking around for a recommendation for a producer – I was doing all kinds of outreach and it was a woman at IFP NY that told me that producing partners are like a marriage and really there’s no one who can find that person for you. This proved true for me. When I found my partner Ryan Grams, I had no idea he was the person I would be working on my feature film with. He came onboard mainly during my film Awakening that was shot during Covid and we were under enormous pressure – first because of Covid itself and working with the unions and wanting to keep everyone safe, and because my lead actress was pregnant and we had to shoot before it became impossible and also because I had a big grant I was awarded to make the film and I wanted to honor that grant. Sadly it was further complicated because that summer George Floyd was murdered and obviously the last thing that seemed appropriate was talking about making a film. Late in the summer there was a small window and I had to grab it. Ryan did some very big lifting for me on that production, he had my back. I couldn’t work with as a large a crew as I needed because of Covid so I needed someone who was very good – who knew their stuff and that was Ryan. Afterwards we both learned that we wanted many of the same things which was to make feature films, to make feature films that were not micro budget and to create a business model that we could do it over and over again.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.ravenstreamprod.com, www.aslipoftheknot.com, www.juliekoehnen.com
• Instagram: @JulieKoehnen, @Ravenstreamproductions
• Facebook: JulieKoehnen, RavenstreamProductions, Awakening
• Twitter: @juliekoehnen, @ravenstreamprod,

Image Credits
Headshot photo – Liz Hauck Photography Still photo – MASTER SERVANT – Ben Enke BTS photo – MASTER SERVANT – Steve Friedman BTS photo – A SLIP OF THE KNOT – Steven Elbert BTS photo – AWAKENING – Julie Koehnen Still photo – AWAKENING – Ben Enke