Matt Johnson

Matt Johnson is a Canadian filmmaker, director, writer, producer, editor, and actor. His work includes his feature film directorial debut, The Dirties (2013), which premiered at Slamdance; his second feature film, Operation Avalanche (2016), which premiered at Sundance; and his third feature film, BlackBerry (2023), which premiered at the Berlinale before winning several Canadian Screen Awards in 2024. He is also co-creator of the cult comedy series Nirvanna the Band the Show (2017). As an actor, he has appeared Kazik Radwanska's film Anne at 1,300 Feet (2019) and Matt and Mara (2024).

Works

The Dirties

The line between reality and fiction starts to blur when two best friends start making a movie about getting revenge on bullies.

Release Date2013-10-04

DepartmentDirecting

JobDirector

Charactersd Matt

Vote Count140

Operation Avalanche

In 1967, four undercover CIA agents were sent to NASA posing as a documentary film crew. What they discovered led to one of the biggest conspiracies in American history.

Release Date2016-09-16

DepartmentDirecting

JobDirector

Charactersd Matt Johnson

Vote Count212

BlackBerry

Two mismatched entrepreneurs – egghead innovator Mike Lazaridis and cut-throat businessman Jim Balsillie – joined forces in an endeavour that was to become a worldwide hit in little more than a decade. The story of the meteoric rise and catastrophic demise of the world's first smartphone.

Release Date2023-02-13

DepartmentDirecting

JobDirector

Charactersd Doug Fregin

Vote Count787

Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie

When their plan to book a show at the Rivoli goes horribly wrong, Matt and Jay accidentally travel back to the year 2008.

Release Date2026-02-13

DepartmentDirecting

JobDirector

Charactersd Matt

Update Day

From the original 2006-2009 web series, Matt and Jay make a song based on the titles from the Wii shop.

Charactersd Matt

Diamond Tongues

Edith dreams of being a successful actress but just can't seem to make things happen. When she can't figure out what she's doing wrong, she begins to do everything wrong.

Release Date2015-01-25

Charactersd John Matheson

Vote Count6

Anne at 13,000 Ft.

Anne hasn't been the same since the jump. While skydiving for her best friend Sarah's bachelorette party, the 27-year-old felt focused, free, above it all. Back on the ground, the pressures of her daily life threaten to overwhelm her.

Release Date2021-09-03

Charactersd Matt

Vote Count13

Spice It Up

A film student at Ryerson University struggles to complete her thesis project.

Release Date2019-08-15

Charactersd Passport Photographer

Vote Count1

Matt and Mara

Mara is a young creative writing professor struggling with problems in her marriage to an experimental musician. One day, she runs into Matt, a charismatic, free-spirited author from her past, when he wanders onto her university campus. Bonded by their shared interests, the two gradually become closer. When Mara’s husband unexpectedly cancels plans to drive her to an out-of-town conference, Matt accompanies Mara on the trip instead. Along the way, the tension surrounding their undefined relationship slowly grows.

Release Date2024-09-13

DepartmentProduction

JobExecutive Producer

Charactersd Matt

Vote Count33

The Revenge Plot

After Matt and his friends are dissed in the schoolyard by a group of girls, they set to work on an elaborate and merciless plan for revenge.

Release Date2011-01-01

DepartmentWriting

JobWriter

Charactersd Matt

Operation Avalanche

Achieving viral success after being snuck into the Sundance Film Festival, this short film features the powerful story of a young high school boy seeking revenge against the teacher that sexually assaulted him. Inspired by a series of real rapes.

Release Date2016-01-22

DepartmentDirecting

JobDirector

Charactersd Boy

Nirvanna the Band the Show

Two lifelong best friends and roommates are planning the greatest musical act in the history of the modern world.

Release Date2017-02-02

DepartmentDirecting

JobDirector

Charactersd Matt

Episode Count16

Vote Count24

My Mother's Pearls

Steve searches for someone to play a board game with.

Release Date2004-01-01

DepartmentDirecting

JobDirector

Charactersd Future Steve

Vote Count1

Nirvanna The Band - Mega64 Special

Nirvanna The Band are the official convention hall announcers for 64X 2023 (Mega64 Expo). We present this documentary as a glimpse into their mastery of the craft and a testament to the brilliance of their creative union.

Release Date2023-09-12

DepartmentDirecting

JobDirector

Charactersd

Nirvana the Band the Show

Musicians Matt and Jay attempt to achieve their dream of playing at a small Toronto venue, the Rivoli, through a series of various schemes and publicity stunts.

Release Date2007-12-13

DepartmentProduction

JobProducer

Charactersd Matt

Episode Count11

Vote Count3

The Fantastic Corpse

The Fantastic Corpse is a short film project based on the exquisite corpse collaborative method. Dell Precision and AMD are working with creative content company Arts+Labor to bring five Fantastic Fest filmmakers together to create one short film, each filming an equal part, and continuing each others segment.

Release Date2013-09-26

DepartmentDirecting

JobDirector

Charactersd

Matt Johnson Live at Comic-Con

In a short sketch produced for Funny or Die, Matt Johnson reports live on the scene in the 2013 Comic-Con convention hall.

Release Date2013-07-21

DepartmentDirecting

JobDirector

Charactersd Himself

Shubadak

This one's a war movie.

Release Date2009-12-11

DepartmentEditing

JobEditor

Charactersd Matt

Matt and Bird Break Loose

Monkey and bird best friends, Matt and Bird, have been studying humans very closely from their shared cage in the zoo. But everything they know about being human is based on what they've seen on TV. In each episode, Matt and Bird cleverly break out of the zoo in disguise in order to chase their dreams and fame...and quickly discover it's not so easy being human.

Release Date2021-09-16

DepartmentProduction

JobExecutive Producer

Charactersd Matt (voice)

Episode Count3

Cosmotive Inc.

Malcolm hosts a promotional video for Cosmotive Inc., the cosmetic company he works for. During the tour, he discovers their involvement in animal testing and in order to save an innocent dog, he bribes a guard with the engagement ring he purchased for his girlfriend.

Release Date2012-01-01

Charactersd Richard

Nicky Nicky Nine-Door

Deleted scene from Nirvanna the Band the Show. Nicky Nicky Nine Doors up and down the Scarborough Bluffs.

Release Date2007-10-31

DepartmentDirecting

JobDirector

Charactersd Matt Johnson

Vote Count1

How Heavy This Hammer

Follows a middle-aged married man who finds his only outlet is online gaming.

Release Date2015-09-15

Charactersd Hardware Store Employee

Vote Count6

The Heirloom

Facing a long winter of lockdown and combating a bad case of writer’s block, filmmaker Eric agrees to get a dog with his girlfriend Allie. A modern couple – vegan, ethical, millennial, neurotic – much research and negotiation leads to the arrival of Milly, a rescue from the Dominican Republic.

Release Date2024-01-25

Charactersd Belligerent Vet

Vote Count1

The Alex Leyba Movie II

Alex Leyba, a passionate but struggling young filmmaker, finds himself homeless and trying to reconcile with old friends who are frustrated with his ego, excuses, and obsessions. They accuse him of using people, of seeing everyone as props for his “masterpiece.”

Release Date2025-12-19

Charactersd Self (archive footage)

Hell of a Summer

When 24-year-old Jason Hochberg arrives for counsellor weekend at his beloved Camp Pineway, his biggest problem is feeling out of touch with his teenage co-workers. Little does he know; a masked killer has murdered camp owners John and Kathy and is preparing to strike again.

Release Date2025-04-03

DepartmentCrew

JobThanks

Vote Count128

Therapy Dogs

A chronicle of the last year of high school as two friends set out to make the ultimate senior video.

Release Date2023-03-10

DepartmentProduction

JobExecutive Producer

Vote Count8

Honolulu Blue

2004 student film by Matt Johnson and Josh Boles.

Release Date2004-01-01

DepartmentDirecting

JobDirector

Matt & Bird Break Loose

Fueled by delusions of grandeur, Matt and Bird disguise themselves as humans and break out of the zoo to chase their dreams, only to learn that it's not so easy being human.

Release Date2021-09-16

DepartmentWriting

JobWriter

Episode Count3

Vote Count2

Tony

An Anthony Bourdain biopic that takes place during the summer of 1976, when a young Bourdain has a life-changing summer in Provincetown

DepartmentDirecting

JobDirector

Kill Hitler

Kill Hitler is a time-travel period action movie set in 1939, which follows a Mossad Agent trying to kill Hitler.

DepartmentDirecting

JobDirector

Mile End Kicks

In 2011 Montreal’s indie music scene, Grace Pine, a 24-year-old music critic moves to the Canadian city to write a book on Alanis Morissette’s classic 'Jagged Little Pill' album. But her plans take an unexpected turn when she gets romantically involved with members of an indie band for whom she serves as their publicist.

Release Date2025-09-04

DepartmentProduction

JobExecutive Producer

Untitled Matt Johnson Film

A young Canadian investigative journalist helps crack Vice’s connection to a massive 2015 Canadian drug bust in Australia.

DepartmentDirecting

JobDirector

Magic: The Gathering

A live-action adaptation. Plot TBA.

DepartmentDirecting

JobDirector

Crash Land

A group of small-town amateur stuntmen's days revolve around drinking, antagonizing their community, and filming crude, Jackass-style stunts.

DepartmentProduction

JobExecutive Producer