Personal details
- Height: 5′ 3″ (1.60 m)
- Professions: Director, Writer, Actress
Leah Johnston’s got one of those careers that kind of sneaks up on you—like, you see her name on a fest lineup and think, “Wait, didn’t she direct that weirdly beautiful short last year?” She’s from Nova Scotia (yes, real people live there, not just moose and fog), and she actually kicked things off acting as a kid. Then she did the whole NYU Tisch thing—musical theatre, no less—so there’s some razzle-dazzle in her DNA. Somewhere along the way, she ditched the jazz hands and picked up a camera, sliding into photography before switching lanes and making movies. Her first short, “Some Things Won’t Sleep,” got a boost from the National Screen Institute Drama Prize. Since then, she’s put out six shorts—actual festival circuit darlings. “Ingrid and the Black Hole” picked up Best Short at Edmonton, and “Mother’s Skin” racked up awards in Shanghai and back home at the Atlantic International Film Festival. Oh, and she’s not done. Johnston’s working on her debut feature, “Shopaholic,” which was cooked up at the Canadian Film Centre Directors Lab and already snagged the Writers Guild of Canada Sondra Kelly Award—kind of a big deal for female writers. She’s also bagged the Corus Fearless Female Filmmaker Award, the Bravofact/WIFT Prize, and has done the rounds at all the fancy labs—Reykjavik, Academy of Canadian Cinema, you name it. She’s basically everywhere, quietly crushing it.
Yeah, so this one’s about a kid who ditches the safe path and dives headfirst into the chaos of musical theatre at NYU. It’s not exactly the kind of place your parents brag about at dinner parties—unless they’re Broadway superfans, then maybe. Anyway, he gets tossed into this melting pot of drama geeks, jazz hands, and people who belt out show tunes in the cafeteria. You’d think it’s all tap shoes and jazz squares, but nah, it’s way messier and a bit cutthroat. Between wild auditions, awkward dance calls, and those late-night rehearsals that turn into therapy sessions, he’s just trying not to lose his mind. Friendships get tested, egos clash, and—of course—there’s a big showcase at the end where everyone’s future is on the line. So if you’ve ever wanted a peek behind the velvet curtain, this is straight-up your jam.
5′ 3″ (1.60 m)
Konidela Ram Charan