fiction.wikisort.org - Director

Steve Johnson is an English film director.

Steve Johnson
Born	29 December 1972 Liverpool, England
Occupation	Film director
Years active	2005–present
Notable work	Convergence Fr(e)ight Day-29 The Students of Springfield Street
Spouse	Margaret Johnson ​ (m. 1999)​

Life and career

Steve Johnson was born in Liverpool in England. At school, Johnson was a keen middle distance runner and set a Great Britain record for his age group in the 4x1,500 metre relay. He took part in a student exchange programme which allowed him to study in Michigan in the United States. During his time here, he became Michigan State Cross Country Champion and participated in many running events including the Athletic Congress national cross country meet at Purdue University and the Invitational Cross Country meet at Bullock Creek.[1][2]

Johnson's love for film first began after seeing Star Wars at the Futurist Theatre in Liverpool. In November 2005, Johnson established Futurist Online Ltd (later becoming Futurist Digital Ltd in 2013) in Glasgow, Scotland.[3] Over the years, Johnson developed his skills on the Red Digital Cinema Camera Company camera system and later became a freelance trainer and course producer for their REDucation courses and has taught in many cities across the globe including Brisbane, Berlin, Dubai, London, Los Angeles, Madrid, Moscow, Oslo and Singapore. He has also held classes at Pinewood Studios and YouTube Space, London.[4][5]

In 2014, Futurist Digital teamed up with Production Attic and Quick Off The Mark Productions to film and produce three short children's films for a competition run by Vue Cinemas. The competition asked school children from Aultmore Park Primary School to draw a short storyboard for a film with the top three concepts being made into real short films and shown at their local cinema.[6]

The following year, Johnson served as a post production supervisor for the short film When The Tide Comes In which went on to receive a nomination for Best Composer at the 2015 British Academy Scotland New Talent Awards.[7]

In 2015, Johnson launched an online crowd funding campaign to raise money for what would become his directorial debut and his first feature film project. The Students of Springfield Street[8] follows twenty-four hours in the lives of six friends, examining interpersonal connections and the intricate weave of words, actions and emotions that unknowingly link and change the direction of their day. The crowd funding campaign for the film was successful and raise $6000 in just 4 weeks.[9]

The film was released on 26 June 2015 and was warmly received by critics both at home and abroad. Film review website Indyred wrote:

"The Students Of Springfield Street easily earns it's rating based on only two elements, clever writing and some damn fine acting. Mr. Johnson is a master of pretext, giving this movie a reason to "hit rewind" and see what you may have missed."[10]

On 23 October 2015, the film had its UK Debut at the Aberdeen Film Festival.[11][12] The film proved to be a hit with the festival's jurors who awarded the film the Best Feature award. Speaking about his win to Creative Clyde, Johnson said:

"I am proud that our first full-length production has achieved ‘Best Picture’ recognition. I wanted a film that would spark some discussion over tone, style and the stereotypes surrounding Scottish movies. I wanted The Students of Springfield Street to bring a fresh look at young people and their lives in a very stylised way."[13]

Johnson released his second feature film, Convergence (2019 film) in 2019, premiering at Cineworld, Leicester Square, London as part of the 2019 British Independent Film Festival,[14] where it won Best Feature Film and was nominated for a further four awards including Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor and Best Cinematography. The film stars Jeremy Theobald and Nicolette McKeown.

'Convergence' played at numerous film festival around the world, also winning Best Feature Film at the 2019 Cardiff International Film Festival.[15] The film has received numerous positive reviews:

"For a film dealing with numerous angsty themes, Johnson does supremely well to explore them in a manner that feels controlled and minimalist. Whilst there are sequences where the drama explodes on screen, such as Lily talking about her childhood or grappling with her ex, the majority of the film feels like a contemplative piece where the viewer is palpably experiencing the grief and distress of the two central characters. A large part of this is due to the character of Martin and the understated performance from Theobald."[16]

"Jeremy Theobald is great as Martin, conveying the character’s anguish and pain believably. His chemistry with McKeown is excellent, and they make for a credible and engaging onscreen pair. It is Nicolette McKeown though, who owns the entire movie. Her going from scared and traumatized to self-assured and take charge is expertly pulled off. McKeown imbues each and every aspect of that arc with tenderness and emotional honesty that resonates with the viewer on a profound level. Convergence doesn’t exactly do subtle, as it leans heavily on the symbolism. Plus there is one actor that does not entirely sell his character. Beyond that though, Steve Johnson has crafted an impressive, hypnotic film that is equal parts drama and mystery, with fantastic acting."[17]

In 2021, Johnson directed his third feature film, the psychological thriller 'Stalker', written by Chris Watt and produced by production company Stronghold. The film stars bafta winning actor Stuart Brennan with cinematography by Blue Story Simon Stolland. In 2022, 'Stalker' had its World Premiere in Leicester Square, London, as part of Frightfest 2022 and will be distributed in the UK on DVD and Digital from Kaleidoscope Film Distribution. 'Stalker' received numerous 4* reviews.

Filmography

Year	Film	Credited as				Notes
		Director	Cinematographer	Producer	Writer
2014	The Students of Springfield Street	Yes		Yes	Yes
2015	Float		Yes
	February 29th		Yes
	Dog Dayz		Yes
	Fanatic		Yes			2nd Unit Director of Photography
	Harm		Yes	Yes
	A Fire Within		Yes	Yes
2016	Day 29	Yes	Yes		Yes
	Wee Amy		Yes
	Round Habit		Yes	Yes
	Killing People		Yes
2017	Custodian		Yes
	Mia: A Rapture 2.0 Production		Yes
	Wolves in Winter		Yes
2018	She of the Land		Yes
	A Rapture Disaster		Yes
2019	Convergence	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
2020	Autumn Never Dies		Yes
2022	Stalker	Yes
	Even God Gets Mad in the Temple	Yes
	Snapshot	Yes
	The 12th Man	Yes		Yes

Awards and nominations

Year	Awards	Category	Film	Result
2015	Aberdeen Film Festival	Best Feature	The Students of Springfield Street	Won
2018	Sydney Indie Film Festival	Best Cinematography	Mia: A Rapture 2.0 Production	Nominated
2019	British Independent Film Festival [18]	Best Feature Film	Convergence	Won
		Best Cinematography		Nominated
	New Directors Hollywood Showcase	Best Feature Film		Nominated
	LA Edge Film Awards [19]	Best Narrative Feature Film		Won
		Best Director		Won
		Best Cinematography		Won
		Best Editing		Won
	United States Film Festival	Best International Feature Film		Won
		Best Cinematography		Won
	Los Angeles Theatrical Release Competition & Awards [20]	Best Director Feature (US & International)		Won
		Best Cinematography Feature (US & International)		Won
	Cardiff International Film Festival [21]	Best Feature Film		Won
	Skiptown International Film Festival	Best Feature Film		Nominated
		Best Original Screenplay		Nominated
	European Independent Film Awards	Best Cinematography		Nominated
	Antakya International Film Festival	Best International Feature Film		Nominated
		Special Jury Award		Won
2020	London International Motion Picture Awards [22]	Best Feature Film	Convergence	Nominated
		Best Director		Nominated
		Best Cinematography		Nominated
	The Scottish Short Film Festival [23]	Best Cinematography	She of the Land	Nominated
	Diabolical Horror Film Festival [24]			Nominated
	Independent Horror Movie Awards [25]			Nominated
	Top Indie Film Awards [26]		Autumn Never Dies	Nominated
2021	Night of Comedy Shorts [27]			Won
2022	Scotland International Festival of Cinema [28]	Juan Ruiz Anchia Award for Best Cinematography for a Featurette		Nominated

References

External links

• Steve Johnson at IMDb
• Steve Johnson Official Website
• Futurist Digital Website
• Futuristfilm Website

---