Brian D. Johnson is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

journalist and filmmaker, best known as an entertainment reporter and film critic for ''

Maclean's ''Maclean's'' is a Canadian magazine founded in 1905 which reports on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, trends and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian ...

''."Return of the '70s: not very far out". ''

Montreal Gazette ''The Gazette'', also known as the ''Montreal Gazette'', is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper which is owned by Postmedia Network. It is published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the only English-language daily newspape ...

'', November 19, 1994. He first joined the magazine in 1985. In early 2014, Johnson announced his retirement as a full-time staff member of the magazine, although he remains an occasional freelance contributor. He has also contributed to ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' and ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'', and has won three

National Magazine Awards The National Magazine Awards, also known as the Ellie Awards, honor print and digital publications that consistently demonstrate superior execution of editorial objectives, innovative techniques, noteworthy enterprise and imaginative design. Or ...

for his writing. He was a founding member of the

Toronto Film Critics Association The Toronto Film Critics Association (TFCA) is an organization of film critics from Toronto-based publications. As of 1999, the TFCA is a member of the FIPRESCI. History The Toronto Film Critics Association is the official organization of Toro ...

, and served as the organization's president from 2009 to 2017. Johnson has also published the poetry book ''Marzipan Lies'' (1974), the novel ''Volcano Days'' (1994) and the non-fiction book ''Brave Films, Wild Nights: 25 Years of Festival Fever'' (2000), a history of the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the most prestigious and largest publicly attended film festivals in the world. Founded in 1976, the festival takes place every year in early September. The organi ...

."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 The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division. ...

'', September 3, 2000. As a filmmaker, he directed the short films ''Tell Me Everything'' (2006) and ''Yesno'' (2010). His first feature film as a documentarian, ''

Al Purdy Was Here ''Al Purdy Was Here'' is a 2015 Canadian documentary film.2015 Toronto International Film Festival The 40th annual Toronto International Film Festival was held from 10 to 20 September 2015. On 28 July 2015 the first wave of films to be screened at the Festival was announced. Jean-Marc Vallée's ''Demolition'' starring Jake Gyllenhaal and N ...

, where it finished third in the voting for the Grolsch People's Choice Documentary Award. His documentary film ''

The Colour of Ink ''The Colour of Ink'' is a Canadian documentary film, directed by Brian D. Johnson and released in 2022.Lauren Malyk"Sphinx, NFB set The Colour of Ink" '' Playback'', May 15, 2019. The film centres on Jason Logan, an artist and graphic designer wh ...

'' premiered at the

2022 Toronto International Film Festival The 47th annual Toronto International Film Festival was held from September 8 to 18, 2022. The 2022 festival was staged primarily in-person; a small selection of films were offered on the Digital TIFF Bell Lightbox platform, but this represente ...

.Pat Mullen
"TIFF Announces Canadian Films for 2022 Festival"
''That Shelf'', August 10, 2022. He is married to writer and broadcaster Marni Jackson.

References

20th-century Canadian novelists 20th-century Canadian poets Canadian film critics Canadian film historians Canadian male novelists Canadian male poets Canadian documentary film directors Maclean's writers and editors Film directors from Toronto Poets from Toronto Living people 20th-century Canadian male writers Canadian male non-fiction writers Year of birth missing (living people) Novelists from Toronto {{Canada-poet-stub