Shannon Johnston is a writer, director, and on the side does a little production design. She graduated from Webster University right in the middle of the 2020 Covid pandemic, which halted the production of her final thesis, “Finch.” Johnston makes films concerning human relationships, hardships, cultural understandings, and personal struggles. Most of her work comes from her own experiences and evaluations of the world. Her minor in cultural anthropology influences her work tremendously, as she is not afraid to look at the unflattering parts of the world and question “yes, and?”

“We are more alike in this world than we are different. All of us are searching for love and comfort and peace, and sometimes we show that in ways that are different than expected and may not make sense. But sometimes with a little empathy and a little love, those ways may become more clear to us. That’s what I like to do with filmmaking – show a little love and compassion for those confusing ways we try to love each other and ourselves.”