Matt Johnson (filmmaker)

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Matt Johnson at the Berlinale 2020 in the film talk about Anne at 13,000 ft

Matt Johnson (born around 1985) is a Canadian director , screenwriter and actor . He gained fame through his independent films The Dirties (2013) and Operation Avalanche (2016).

Career

Johnson began his career in 2007 with the web series Nirvana the Band the Show (2007-2009). In the 10-part series that he directed and played one of the two main roles alongside Jay McCarrol, the fictional band “Nirvana the Band” tries to get an appearance in a hip concert hall. The series was later typically a mockumentary for Johnson , the dialogues of which were improvised and sometimes filmed with a hidden camera .

Johnson's first feature film - The Dirties - was shot in late 2011 after attending York University with a focus on film, and was released in 2013. It premiered at the Slamdance Film Festival , where it also received the award for best feature film . For the film, a mixture of mockumentary, found footage , documentary and feature film about bullying and school rampage , he enrolled undercover at a high school and partly shot the film with a hidden camera. Except for the last sentence, the dialogues were all improvised. Johnson also played the leading role alongside Owen Williams. They took part in everyday school life as normal students, attended the lessons and were accompanied by a small film crew . Classmates assumed that Johnson and Williams are new to high school and are working on a school film project. Johnson got the idea for the film when he saw early video recordings of the perpetrators of the rampage at Columbine High School , which reminded him of his first attempts with the camera. The cost of the film, which they paid out of their own pocket, was $ 10,000 and another $ 45,000 for licensing the music used.

In 2014 he worked intermittently with Sacha Baron Cohen on an unspecified television series. Two years later, his second film - Operation Avalanche - premiered at the renowned Sundance Film Festival 2016 . The total budget for the film was $ 1.25 million. 400,000 US dollars of this was for the pure production, another 400,000 US dollars were paid to the licensees of the music used. Johnson previously asked the Telefilm Canada film subsidy for co-financing of the film, but this refused because Johnson was already in negotiations with the film production company Lionsgate . Operation Avalanch was partially filmed at the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston . To get permission to film , they told NASA that they were working on a student film about the organization in the 1960s. The film was nominated for six awards at the 2017 Canadian Screen Awards , including Johnson for best performance by a director .

Between February and March 2017, the US television station Viceland ran the first season of the television series Nirvanna the Band the Show , which is an adaptation of the previous web series. Previously, the first episodes were broadcast at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival . The second season started in October of the same year.

Johnson lives in Toronto, Canada and is co-founder of the local film production company Zapruder Films.

Filmography

  • 2007–2009: Nirvana the Band the Show (web series, direction, screenplay, acting)
  • 2013: The Dirties (director, screenplay, editor, acting)
  • 2015: Diamond Tongues (acting)
  • 2015: How Heavy This Hammer (Acting)
  • 2016: Operation Avalanche (Director, Screenplay, Acting)
  • since 2017: Nirvanna the Band the Show (TV series, director, screenplay, executive producer , acting)
  • 2018: Spice It Up (Acting)
  • 2019: Anne at 13,000 ft (acting)

Awards

year price category Movie Result
2013 Dallas International Film Festival Special prize of the jury The Dirties Won
International Film Festival Oldenburg Audience award ("German Independence Award") The Dirties Nominated
Locarno Film Festival Best New Filmmaker ("Golden Leopard - Filmmakers of the Present") The Dirties Nominated
Sarasota Film Festival Best Film ("Independent Visions Award") The Dirties Won
Slamdance Film Festival Best Feature Film ("Grand Jury Sparky Award for Feature Narrative") The Dirties Won
"Spirit of Slamdance Sparky Award" The Dirties Won
Sitges Film Festival Best Film ("New Visions Award") The Dirties Nominated
Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival Best Youth Film ("Just Film Award") The Dirties Nominated
Toronto Film Critics Association Awards Aspiring filmmaker ("Jay Scott Prize") The Dirties Won
Valdivia International Film Festival Best movie The Dirties Nominated
2014 Canadian Screen Award Best cut The Dirties Nominated
2014 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival Aspiring Canadian filmmaker ("Lindalee Tracey Award") The Dirties Won
Ibn Arabi International Film Festival Best film ("IBAFF Award") The Dirties Nominated
Jerusalem Film Festival Best first international film ("FIPRESCI Prize") The Dirties Nominated
Vancouver Film Critics Circle Best Actor in a Canadian Film ("VFCC Award") The Dirties Won
Best Director of a Canadian Film ("VFCC Award") The Dirties Nominated
2016 Athens International Film Festival Best Director ("Golden Athena") Operation Avalanche Won
Best Director ("City of Athens Award") Operation Avalanche Won
Best Film ("Golden Athena") Operation Avalanche Nominated
CPH: PIX Audience award Operation Avalanche Nominated
East End Film Festival Best movie Operation Avalanche Nominated
Fantasia International Film Festival Best Canadian Feature Film (Audience Award) Operation Avalanche 3 . space
Fantastic feast Best Film (Audience Award) Operation Avalanche 2 . space
Toronto Film Critics Association Awards Best Canadian Film ("Rogers Award") Operation Avalanche Nominated
Zurich Film Festival Best International Feature Film ("Golden Eye") Operation Avalanche Nominated
2017 Canadian Screen Award Best director Operation Avalanche Nominated
Best movie Operation Avalanche Nominated
2018 Canadian Screen Award Best comedy series Nirvanna the Band the Show Nominated
2020 Vancouver Film Critics Circle Best Supporting Actor in a Canadian Film Anne at 13,000 ft Won
2020 Canadian Screen Award Best supporting actor Anne at 13,000 ft Nominated

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Radheyan Simonpillai: Why Matt Johnson is taking Operation Avalanche to Sundance instead of TIFF. In: Now. Now Communications, January 21, 2016, accessed April 12, 2017 .
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g Calum Marsh: How Operation Avalanche director Matt Johnson boldly infiltrated NASA. In: The Globe and Mail . The Woodbridge Company, December 31, 2015, accessed April 12, 2017 .
  3. ↑ a b c d e f g h Alex Godfrey: The Dirties director Matt Johnson on fame and high-school shootings. In: The Guardian . Guardian News and Media Ltd., June 2, 2014, accessed April 12, 2017 .
  4. ↑ a b c Susan Kouguell: Interview with Matt Johnson, Director of 'The Dirties'. In: IndieWire. Penske Media Corporation, September 5, 2013, accessed April 12, 2017 .
  5. ↑ AUDIENCE AND GRAND JURY PRIZES ANNOUNCED FOR 2013 SLAMDANCE FILM FESTIVAL. In: slamdance.com. Slamdance Film Festival , January 24, 2013, accessed April 12, 2017 .
  6. ↑ Calum Marsh: One-Man Band: A Conversation with Matt Johnson About The Dirties. In: Cinema Scope. 2013, accessed April 12, 2017 .
  7. ^ A b Clint Milby, Jake Fruia: Operation Avalanche: Faking The Moon Landing With The Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera. In: HDSLR Shooter. January 22, 2016, accessed April 12, 2017 .
  8. ↑ Angela Watercutter: How Do You Make the Fake NASA Documentary Operation Avalanche? Hire a Really Good Lawyer. In: Wired . Condé Nast , September 3, 2016, accessed April 12, 2017 .
  9. ↑ 2017 Film Nominees. In: academy.ca. Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television, 2017, accessed April 12, 2017 .
  10. ↑ Barry Hertz: 'Can-con bad boy' Matt Johnson: Meet the enemy inside TIFF's gates. In: The Globe and Mail . The Woodbridge Company, September 9, 2016, accessed April 12, 2017 .
  11. ↑ Kate Robertson: Nirvanna the Band the Show is back - but this time it's bigger and on proper TV. In: Now. Now Communications, June 6, 2016, accessed April 12, 2017 .
  12. ↑ Michael Korican: Zapruder Films seeks Canadian female feature writer for dev deal. In: Michael Korican Thinks. September 11, 2016, accessed April 12, 2017 .
  13. ↑ Josh Cabrita: 20th Annual Canadian Award Winners. In: vancouverfilmcritics.com. Vancouver Film Critics Circle, January 7, 2020, accessed June 10, 2020 .
  14. ↑ Nominees. 2020 Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role. In: academy.ca. Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television, accessed June 10, 2020 .
personal data
SURNAME Johnson, Matt
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Canadian director, screenwriter and actor
DATE OF BIRTH around 1985