Biography
Michael Johnson, born in 1965 in Berlin, attended a photographer"s and graphic designer"s training at Berlin"s Akademie der Künste from 1985 to 1986. He then was trained to work as a camera operator and editor at Film & TV Studio Eiswerder before he went to New York to study directing at Tisch School of Arts (TSOA) where he graduated in 1996.
Until 2002, Johnson worked as an assistant director for several US and German filmproductions including "In 80 Tagen um die Welt" ("Around the World in 80 Days", 2003), starring Jackie Chan. After his return to Germany, Johnson made his debut as a director with the pilot film for the TV series "Alicia!", Two years later, he finished his first feature film for the big screen, the animation movie "Nussknacker und Mausekönig" ("The Nutcracker and the Mouse King"). Besides his work as a director, Johnson participated in various positions in several German and international productions. In 2008, his second feature, the documentary film "Knut und seine Freunde", opened in German cinemas.