Jewell Karinen

Biography:

Jewell Karinen is a director whose work fuses high-concept whimsy with bittersweet comedy. She recently completed her new short film "What Happens in Vegas," supported by the inaugural Silver Lake Shorts Fellowship grant. Jewell was a participant in the 2025 Women in Media Activate Impact Initiative program for emerging filmmakers, and the 2019 WhoHaha Spring Creators Lab. Prior work includes micro-shorts "Earthlings" and "Ghostfriend," and surreal short film “10-10” co-directed with Belle Adams. Jewell's work often hooks the audience with surreal, fantastical aesthetics, then sticks the landing with unexpectedly grounded emotional narratives. TTRPG fans might recognize Jewell from her time hosting Tabletop News, or as Ecstasy in "The Party," an ensemble comedy web series about a group of D&D friends that GamingTrend called a "refreshing blend of comedy and psychology."