In 2020, Koehnen was curated by the Film Fatales for their Women With Vision; Then and Now showcase held at the prestigious Walker Art Center for her award winning short film Master Servant. Following that success, Koehnen was awarded both the Metro Regional Arts Council grant and the $10,000 Artist Initiative Grant by the MN State Arts Board to create Awakening, the sequel to Master Servant. In 2022, she became a finalist in the 2022 Stowe Story Lab fellowship for her pilot script Summit Avenue, a one hour TV drama and the inspiration for her short films. Koehnen’s recent successes have been long in the making.

After getting her degree from LA’s Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, Koehnen pursued her passion for filmmaking by writing, producing, acting and directing in her short films, and had her full-length feature Raising the Dead (a.k.a. Don’t Tell) successfully produced by Peer Oppenheimer Productions starring Alison Eastwood. In 2017 Koehnen left a successful editing career in Los Angeles which included working for the NFL Network to pursue filmmaking and screenwriting full time.

She is currently in development for her first feature length film the psychological thriller; A Slip of the Knot. In her spare time, Julie is attending the University of Minnesota and pursuing her degree in film.