Michael Johnston

Mike Johnston is an award-winning director and producer based out of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. In addition to his directorial and producer pursuits, Mike is the co-founder of Vancouver based content studio, Studio 104 Entertainment Inc. Born and raised in Oakville, Ontario, Mike Johnston was raised on a steady diet of Disney and other animated films. But when his grandfather showed him JAWS (1975), he knew he wanted to make movies. Inspired by the works of filmmakers like Steven Spielberg, Robert Zemeckis and Damien Chazelle, Mike's films are often character-driven dramatic films focused around family, and the complications of it and are usually based or inspired on true events. Mike attended the University of British Columbia from 2012-2017 and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Department of Theatre & Film in the Film Production program. Mike's films have played at film festivals across the United States and Canada including the Vancouver International Film Festival, Whistler Film Festival, Encounters Film Festival and Independent Short Awards. In early 2019, Mike produced the Crazy8s breakout film, Idols Never Die, which premiered at the Telefilm Not Short on Talent program at the Cannes Film Festival in March 2019. Mike's films have also received distribution and licensing on several outlets including CBC, CBC Gem, Telus Optik TV on Demand, Youtube and Crave. Additionally, Mike was a participant in the Whistler Film Festival Documentary Lab as well as the inaugural Pendance Film Festival Directors Lab in 2019. In 2019, Mike co-founded and formed Studio 104 Entertainment Inc. where he oversees the development slate and production strategy of all of the company's projects. Mike is a standing member of the Canadian Academy for Film & Television as well as the BC Media Producers Association.