Brian D. Johnson

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Brian D. Johnson is a Canadian journalist and filmmaker, best known as an entertainment reporter and film critic for Maclean's . [1]

He first joined the magazine in 1985. In early 2014, Johnson announced his retirement as a full-time staff member of the magazine, [2] although he remains an occasional freelance contributor. He has also contributed to Rolling Stone and The Globe and Mail , and has won three National Magazine Awards for his writing. [3]

He was a founding member of the Toronto Film Critics Association, and served as the organization's president from 2009 to 2017. [4]

Johnson has also published the poetry book Marzipan Lies (1974), the novel Volcano Days (1994) [1] and the non-fiction book Brave Films, Wild Nights: 25 Years of Festival Fever (2000), a history of the Toronto International Film Festival. [5]

As a filmmaker, he directed the short films Tell Me Everything (2006) [6] and Yesno (2010). [7] His first feature film as a documentarian, Al Purdy Was Here , debuted at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival, [8] where it finished third in the voting for the Grolsch People's Choice Documentary Award. [9]

His documentary film The Colour of Ink is slated to premiere at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival. [10]

He is married to writer and broadcaster Marni Jackson. [5]

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References

  1. 1 2 "Return of the '70s: not very far out". Montreal Gazette , November 19, 1994.
  2. "Writing the stars: 28 years covering showbiz". Maclean's , January 25, 2014.
  3. "Saturday Night wins 10 magazine awards". The Globe and Mail , May 18, 1984.
  4. "T.O. FilmCritics Association calls for release of filmmakers; Jafar Panahi has been detained nearly two weeks". National Post , March 16, 2010.
  5. 1 2 "Boogie nights: For all its star worship, Brian Johnson's take on the Toronto International Film Festival's 25-year run amounts to two decent books in one." Toronto Star , September 3, 2000.
  6. "Shorts on show". Toronto Star , September 8, 2006.
  7. "Burton Cummings attacked!: . . . and other inspired TIFF shorts". Toronto Star , September 2, 2010.
  8. "Patricia Rozema survival tale, Philippe Falardeau satire highlight TIFF's Canadian lineup". eTalk , August 5, 2015.
  9. "Toronto International Film Festival Announces 2015 Award Winners" (PDF) (Press release). TIFF. 2015-09-20. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2015-09-21.
  10. Pat Mullen, "TIFF Announces Canadian Films for 2022 Festival". That Shelf, August 10, 2022.