Matt Johnson (director)

2007–2021: Early films and Nirvana the Band the Show

Johnson's major directorial debut was the independent mockumentary sitcom web series Nirvana the Band the Show, which ran from 2007–2009.^[7] Johnson co-created and co-starred in the series with best friend and fellow actor/musician Jay McCarrol. In 2016, the Nirvana the Band the Show web series was adapted into a television series titled Nirvanna the Band the Show which premiered on Viceland in 2017. Several episodes of the first season were shown at the Toronto International Film Festival.^[8][9] The show is not a direct continuation of the web series, serving as more of a spiritual sequel, but features occasional subtle callbacks.^[8]

Johnson achieved widespread critical acclaim in Canada with his first feature film The Dirties,^[10] which won Best Narrative Feature at the Slamdance Film Festival.^[11] He was a Canadian Screen Award nominee for Best Editing at the 2nd Canadian Screen Awards in 2014 for The Dirties.^[12] The film had a production budget of $10,000. After finishing production, an additional $45,000 was needed to secure licensing rights for the music used in the film. All the film's financing came "out of pocket."^[13] There was almost no scripted dialogue and several scenes were shot without some of the participants' awareness.^[13][14][15]

Johnson and Matthew Miller founded their own production house, Zapruder Films, in 2013. In 2016, the company released its first project, Operation Avalanche.^[16][17]

Operation Avalanche premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. Johnson had received an offer to premiere the film at the Toronto International Film Festival, but he declined, reasoning that the film would be lost in the large number of films shown there.^[18] Lionsgate released it in the US on September 16, 2016.^[19] He was nominated for Best Director at the 5th Canadian Screen Awards in 2017 for his work on Operation Avalanche.^[20] The film received mostly positive reviews from critics.^[21][22] Peter Debruge of Variety wrote, "Matt Johnson and Owen Williams' wild, borderline-illegal stunt delivers big time on its crazy premise."^[23] John DeFore of The Hollywood Reporter called it a "likeable if not always convincing fantasy that gets much mileage from its period feel".^[24] Anthony Kaufman of Screen Daily wrote that the film "comes across more as a rambling lark than a tightly conceived film".^[25]

Johnson and Jay McCarrol co-created and co-starred in an animated spiritual successor to Nirvanna the Band the Show made for children called Matt & Bird Break Loose in 2021.^[26]

2022–present: Career expansion

In 2022, Johnson directed and co-wrote, with Miller, the film BlackBerry, about the rise and fall of Canadian tech company Research in Motion.^[27] The film stars Glenn Howerton as Jim Balsillie, Jay Baruchel as Mike Lazaridis, and Johnson as Douglas Fregin.^[28] BlackBerry premiered in competition at the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival on February 17, 2023,^[3] and attracted widespread critical acclaim.^[29] The film won several accolades, including the $50,000 Rogers Best Canadian Film Award from the Toronto Film Critics Association.^[4] The film broke the record for the most nominations for a film at the 12th Canadian Screen Awards, with 17 nominations at the 2024 ceremony.^[30] The film later won 14 awards, including Best Motion Picture.^[31][32][33]

In 2024, he served as jury president of the Compétition Cheval Noir at the 28th Fantasia International Film Festival.^[34]

Following the success of BlackBerry, Johnson received funding from Telefilm to make a feature film adaptation of Nirvana the Band the Show and Nirvanna the Band the Show.^[35][36] Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie premiered on March 9, 2025 at South by Southwest.^[37][38] The film won critical acclaim and was shortlisted for the Rogers Best Canadian Film Award at the Toronto Film Critics Association Awards 2025.^[39]

Johnson's film Tony, a biopic about Anthony Bourdain starring Dominic Sessa, will be released in August 2026.^[40]

Acting work

In addition to his own productions, he has had acting roles in feature films such as Diamond Tongues, and the Kazik Radwanski films How Heavy This Hammer (2015), Anne at 13,000 Ft. (2019), and Matt and Mara (2024).

Film

Acting roles

Television

Acting role

Web

Acting role