resume and kit info here

bio:

Sue Johnson (she/they) is an internationally based cinematographer who works primarily in long-form narrative and documentary film. Their work has been shown on major platforms and networks such as Netflix, Peacock, StarZ, NBC, CBS, CBC and Al Jazeera, and has also screened internationally at festivals including Toronto International Film Festival, San Francisco Doc Fest, and Inside Out Film Festival. A member of both I.A.T.S.E. 667 and the Canadian Society of Cinematographers, Johnson composes frames with an eye to the emotive, tactile and thematic. She shares her enthusiasm and knowledge for image-making in the Department of Cinema and Media Arts at York University, where she is an Assistant Professor.

about me:

I began making films while earning my Bachelor of Arts degree (English Literature and Fine Arts) at Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick. After earning my degree, I worked in production for several prominent artist-run-centres on the east coast including Struts Gallery & Faucet Media Arts and the Centre for Art Tapes in Halifax. During this time I immersed myself into the world of artist-driven independent film and video, an aesthetic and working methodology which still informs much of my practice. 

In the mid 2000’s, I decided to pursue Cinematography as my career specialization. After completing my MFA at Toronto Metropolitan University in Documentary Media, I became a member of I.A.T.S.E. 667, working as both a camera assistant and operator on some of the most complex dramatic productions in the world. Working in drama has been instrumental to my approach to lighting and camera movement, and I bring this knowledge and professionalism to every set I am on. Overall my cinematography is defined by candid collaborations with directors and subjects, and a visual sensibility that favours bold composition, naturalistic light and motivated movement to reveal the emotional and thematic elements of the story.

Besides cinematography, I also have a directing practice that combines experimental and documentary approaches. I have an affinity for celluloid, and often work with Super8 and 16mm formats. My directing practice engages with the collective history and camp aesthetics of the queer community, and I am currently finishing my first feature-length documentary about Canadian experimental animator and activist James MacSwain. In development is a project on representations of queerness in early 8mm ‘stag’ films.