Matt Johnson

Education and Early Career

Matt Johnson attended York University’s film program and graduated with a BFA in 2006. He later completed an MFA in 2016. At York, Johnson forged key career relationships, including with frequent co-writer and producer Matt Miller and cinematographer Jared Raab.

Johnson’s time at York led to two pivotal projects: the web series Nirvana the Band (2007–10), produced with long-time friend and main collaborator Jay McCarrol; and his debut feature film, The Dirties, his first collaboration with Miller and Raab.

Nirvana the Band Web Series and TV Show

Made while Matt Johnson was a student at York University, the web series Nirvana the Band (2007–10) follows two hapless wannabe rock stars (Johnson and his friend and collaborator since high school, musician and composer Jay McCarrol) and their desperate attempts to land a gig at The Rivoli, a venerable hipster destination in Toronto. (The Rivoli is perhaps best known as the birthplace of the sketch comedy troupe The Kids in the Hall.) The hyper Matt is invariably the source of the insane, disastrous schemes to get the attention of the club’s bookers — none of which involve simply contacting the bar. These insanely convoluted plans and “short cuts” to fame are reflected in the band’s absurdly stolen name.  

This sense of play is one of the defining characteristics of Nirvana the Band, which made Johnson something of a celebrity within the York University film community. Johnson and McCarrol returned to the Nirvanna project with the television series Nirvanna the Band the Show (2017–18), made for Vice TV. The first two episodes screened at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), marking Johnson’s first appearance there.

The Dirties (2013)

Matt Johnson’s directorial debut, The Dirties (2013), was inspired by the Belgian mockumentary/horror film Man Bites Dog (1992). Two goofy high school outsiders and wannabe filmmakers, Matt (Matt Johnson) and Owen (Owen Morgan) are tormented daily by a gang of bullies they deem the Dirties. The bullies’ favourite target is Matt, who stands out because of his hyperactivity. When Owen becomes infatuated with a girl in their class he becomes increasingly frustrated with Matt’s manic behaviour. Feeling betrayed (a theme found in almost all of Johnson’s work), Matt takes vengeance on his long-time tormentors.  

The Dirties premiered at the Slamdance Film Festival, where it won awards for Best Narrative Feature and the Spirit of Slamdance Award. It went on to win prizes from critics’ organizations in Toronto and Vancouver. In 2014, Johnson received the Lindalee Tracey Award from the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival. It is awarded to emerging Canadian filmmakers whose works reflects “a passionate point of view, a strong sense of social justice and a sense of humour.”

Operation Avalanche (2016)

Matt Johnson’s second feature, Operation Avalanche (2016), is a witty and artful comic thriller about two young CIA agents and wannabe filmmakers (played by Johnson and Owen Williams) sent to NASA to root out a Soviet spy. While doing so, they become involved in an elaborate scheme to film a fake moon landing.

Operation Avalanche riffs off of conspiracy theories (Miller and Johnson named their production company Zapruder Films) involving Stanley Kubrick and is buoyed by Johnson’s playfulness and love of film history. Filmed in guerilla style without permission at actual NASA locations, the movie is driven by paranoia, both comic and real (betrayal is again a central theme). Operation Avalanche premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.

Blackberry (2023)

Matt Johnson’s next film, BlackBerry (2023), was co-produced by Matt Miller and veteran producer Niv Fichman’s Rhombus Media. Jay Baruchel and Johnson play Mike Lazaridis and Doug Fregin, the two principals at Research in Motion, the company responsible for the BlackBerry, the world’s first smart phone.

BlackBerry set a record for the most wins (14) — including for Best Motion Picture as well as Johnson’s direction, screenplay and supporting performance — and the most nominations (17) ever at the Canadian Screen Awards.

Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie (2025)

Matt Johnson’s next film, Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie (2025), is easily his most Toronto-focused work. Johnson and McCarrol revisit their favourite characters as they undertake an even more elaborate attempt to get a gig at The Rivoli. It involves a time travelling RV, murder, betrayal and — in the bravura opening scene — parachuting off the CN Tower into the Sky Dome (Rogers Centre) in hopes of getting The Rivoli bookers’ attention.

The film is packed with references to Canadian culture, which confused some American critics. Rapturously received at Canadian film festivals, the movie was nominated for eight Canadian Screen Awards. It also made over $4 million at the domestic box office, making it one of the most successful English Canadian films ever.

Characteristic Style

The majority of Matt Johnson’s projects are exuberantly playful mockumentaries about outsiders desperately trying to establish themselves — usually through hare-brained, disastrous schemes. The agent of comic chaos is frequently played by Johnson himself in a manic, hyper persona that dates back to the Nirvanna web series.

Most of Johnson’s work has a rough-hewn, documentary look. His parodic references to American pop culture — from the misspelling of a famous American band’s name to the nods to Back to the Future in the Nirvanna feature — fall within a lengthy Canadian comedy tradition of satirically looking at our southern neighbors from the outside. (See also SCTV; The Kids in the Hall.) Johnson's comic hyper excitement about the most hare-brained schemes echoes other Canadian comics, perhaps most significantly Tom Green.

Advocacy

Matt Johnson has been an irreverent, at times rancorous and controversial critic of the English Canadian film establishment, particularly early in his career. A staunch advocate for better funding for emerging filmmakers, Johnson criticized Telefilm Canada for what he saw as automatic funding for many established artists. As he told NOW magazine, “rather than funding 20 movies from sort of these old filmmakers every single year,” Telefilm should “fund 150 by filmmakers that nobody has ever heard of.”

Telefilm eventually tasked Johnson and his producing partner Matt Miller with developing the Talent to Watch program. Launched in 2018, it nearly doubled the budget allotment for first-time filmmakers, increasing it to a maximum of $125,000.

Other Activities

A pillar of the cross-Canada independent film scene that emerged in the 2010s, Matt Johnson has acted in numerous films by his contemporaries. These include Pavan Moondi and Brian Robertson’s Diamond Tongues (2015); Lev Lewis, Yonah Lewis and Calvin Thomas’s Spice it Up (2018); and Ben Petrie’s The Heirloom (2024). Johnson has also repeatedly collaborated with his acclaimed contemporary Kazik Radwanski on How Heavy This Hammer (2015), Anne at 13,000 Feet (2019) and most notably Matt and Mara (2024), where Johnson, of course, plays Matt.

Johnson’s first American film, Tony, a biopic about celebrity chef and travel writer Anthony Bourdain, was slated for release in 2026.

Awards

• Jay Scott Prize (The Dirties), Toronto Film Critics Association Awards (2013)
• Independent Vision Award for Best Film (The Dirties), Sarasota Film Festival (2013)
• Special Jury Prize, Narrative Feature Competition, Dallas International Film Festival (2013)
• Best Actor in a Canadian Film (The Dirties), Vancouver Film Critics Circle (2014)
• Lindalee Tracey Award (The Dirties), Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival (2014)
• Best Director (Operation Avalanche), Athens International Film Festival (2016)
• Best Supporting Actor in a Canadian Film (Anne at 13,000 Ft.), Vancouver Film Critics Circle (2019)
• Sloan Science on Screen Award (BlackBerry), San Francisco International Film Festival (2023)
• Best Screenplay for a Canadian Film (BlackBerry, shared with Matthew Miller), Vancouver Film Critics Circle (2024)
• Best Director in a Canadian Film (BlackBerry), Vancouver Film Critics Circle (2024)
• Adapted Screenplay (BlackBerry, shared with Matthew Miller), Canadian Screen Awards (2024)
• Achievement in Direction (BlackBerry), Canadian Screen Awards (2024)
• Best Male Actor in a Canadian Film (Matt and Mara), Vancouver Film Critics Circle (2025)
• Midnighter Audience Award (Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie), SXSW Film Festival (2025)
• Midnight Madness People’s Choice Award (Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie), Toronto International Film Festival (2025)