Production

James M. Johnston

Johnston is an award-winning filmmaker from Fort Worth, TX.  He is part of the filmmaking collective Sailor Bear where he produced the films Ain't Them Bodies Saints and Listen Up Philip. Johnston also directed the short films Knife, Receive Bacon, and Merrily, Merrily.

Acting credits

Behind the camera

Mother Mary poster
5.7

Long-buried wounds rise to the surface when iconic pop star Mother Mary reunites with her estranged best friend and former costume designer Sam Anselm on the eve of her comeback performance.

Mother Mary

2026

The Green Knight poster
6.6

An epic fantasy adventure based on the timeless Arthurian legend, The Green Knight tells the story of Sir Gawain, King Arthur's reckless and headstrong nephew, who embarks on a daring quest to confront the eponymous Green Knight, a gigantic emerald-skinned stranger and tester of men.

The Green Knight

2021

A Ghost Story poster
7.1

Recently deceased, a white-sheeted ghost returns to his suburban home to console his bereft wife, only to find that in his spectral state he has become unstuck in time, forced to watch passively as the life he knew and the woman he loves slowly slip away.

A Ghost Story

2017

The Old Man & the Gun poster
6.4

The true story of Forrest Tucker, from his audacious escape from San Quentin at the age of 70 to an unprecedented string of heists that confounded authorities and enchanted the public. Wrapped up in the pursuit are a detective, who becomes captivated with Forrest’s commitment to his craft, and a woman, who loves him in spite of his chosen profession.

The Old Man & the Gun

2018

Ain't Them Bodies Saints poster
6.1

Bob Muldoon and Ruth Guthrie, an impassioned young outlaw couple on an extended crime spree, are finally apprehended by lawmen after a shootout in the Texas hills. Although Ruth wounds a local officer, Bob takes the blame. But four years later, Bob escapes from prison and sets out to find Ruth and their daughter, born during his incarceration.

Ain't Them Bodies Saints

2013

The Unwilling poster
3.8

After the death of a much despised patriarch, a mysterious box shows up during the reading of the will, forcing the family to reckon with each of their own deadly sins.

The Unwilling

2017

Never Goin' Back poster
6.1

Angela and Jessie are best friends intent on taking a wild beach trip, but when their roommate loses all of their money in a drug scam, the girls -- blissfully stoned -- go to increasingly daring and absurd lengths to get it back.

Never Goin' Back

2018

Listen Up Philip poster
5.8

Anger rages in Philip as he awaits the publication of his second novel. He feels pushed out of his adopted home city by the constant crowds and noise, a deteriorating relationship with his photographer girlfriend Ashley, and his own indifference to promoting the novel. When Philip's idol Ike Zimmerman offers his isolated summer home as a refuge, he finally gets the peace and quiet to focus on his favorite subject: himself.

Listen Up Philip

2014

Person to Person poster
5.2

Follows a variety of New York characters as they navigate personal relationships and unexpected problems over the course of one day.

Person to Person

2017

Pit Stop poster
5.9

Openly gay Ernesto and closeted Gabe grapple with the sad tribulations of being gay in a small, working-class Texas town

Pit Stop

2013

Miss Juneteenth poster
6.4

Turquoise, a former beauty queen turned hardworking single mother, prepares her rebellious teenage daughter for the “Miss Juneteenth” pageant, hoping to keep her from repeating the same mistakes in life that she did.

Miss Juneteenth

2020

Light from Light poster
6.0

Shelia, a single mom and sometime paranormal investigator, is enlisted to investigate a possible “haunting” at a widower’s farmhouse in East Tennessee.

Light from Light

2019

No artwork available
NR

Two women find themselves competing against each other – one is a young new fighter while the other is a former champion who is determined to reclaim her title.

Strawweight

No artwork available
NR

A simple story about a 13-year-old girl in an existential crisis. Her name is Merrilee. She is an only child. Introspective and out of place, her social nexus is nominal.

Merrily, Merrily

2008

No artwork available
NR

A simple story about a 13-year-old girl in an existential crisis. Her name is Merrilee. She is an only child. Introspective and out of place, her social nexus is nominal.

Merrily, Merrily

2008

No artwork available
NR

A simple story about a 13-year-old girl in an existential crisis. Her name is Merrilee. She is an only child. Introspective and out of place, her social nexus is nominal.

Merrily, Merrily

2008

Oak Thorn & the Old Rose of Love poster
8.3

In this companion-piece to The Green Knight, two mysterious entities exchange their knowledge in unconventional ways.

Oak Thorn & the Old Rose of Love

2022

No artwork available
5.5

Set in rural Texas the story chronicles an unnamed man with a broken spirit. In the beginning we see him returning to his family. Where he’s been is unknown. Wherever it was – prison, maybe war – the years have not been kind to him. In spite of his family’s warm welcome the man can’t shake an anger that builds in him so he must leave them again. This time to return to the land that was once theirs, a land that had been in the family for generations, a land that has been stolen, plundered, and sewn with seeds of greed. There’s a force at work, a corruption that destroys homes, nature, families, and memories. The Man decides to lay his stakes down and pits himself against it all. He is on a ruinous mission to sate the hatred in his heart with the knife he carries in his hand.

Knife

2011

No artwork available
5.5

Set in rural Texas the story chronicles an unnamed man with a broken spirit. In the beginning we see him returning to his family. Where he’s been is unknown. Wherever it was – prison, maybe war – the years have not been kind to him. In spite of his family’s warm welcome the man can’t shake an anger that builds in him so he must leave them again. This time to return to the land that was once theirs, a land that had been in the family for generations, a land that has been stolen, plundered, and sewn with seeds of greed. There’s a force at work, a corruption that destroys homes, nature, families, and memories. The Man decides to lay his stakes down and pits himself against it all. He is on a ruinous mission to sate the hatred in his heart with the knife he carries in his hand.

Knife

2011

No artwork available
1.0

Marcus is dealing with some serious shit but he can't seem to talk to anyone about it.

Melville

2015

No artwork available
1.0

Marcus is dealing with some serious shit but he can't seem to talk to anyone about it.

Melville

2015

The Outlaw Son poster
NR

A young man calls an old friend to pick him up from the airport. She does so, and they spend a long cold night in each other's company; driving around, listening to music, and trying hard not to grow up.

The Outlaw Son

2007

No artwork available
10.0

Four encounters, each confined to a single room: a man helps a young woman remember her past; a husband and wife confront each other about their infidelities; a journalist interviews a famous author about the mysteries hidden in his novel; and a secretary visits her former employer to tell him how much she's always loved him. Each of these conversations could happen any day, every day – except that the young woman has been raped and murdered, the husband has died in a terrible automobile accident, the employer has perished in a fire, and the novelist has passed away from old age. The four intertwined stories weave a tale that is shocking, humorous, tragic and uplifting, in which secrets are shared, truths are revealed, and each of the eight characters comes to an understanding they could not have gained without the touch of death.

Deadroom

2005

No artwork available
10.0

Four encounters, each confined to a single room: a man helps a young woman remember her past; a husband and wife confront each other about their infidelities; a journalist interviews a famous author about the mysteries hidden in his novel; and a secretary visits her former employer to tell him how much she's always loved him. Each of these conversations could happen any day, every day – except that the young woman has been raped and murdered, the husband has died in a terrible automobile accident, the employer has perished in a fire, and the novelist has passed away from old age. The four intertwined stories weave a tale that is shocking, humorous, tragic and uplifting, in which secrets are shared, truths are revealed, and each of the eight characters comes to an understanding they could not have gained without the touch of death.

Deadroom

2005