Louise Johnson – Writer

ABOUT

I’m a London-based writer. I studied the History of Art at Essex University before working as a journalist and TV researcher for the BBC.

I strongly believe that our early memories shape the people – and creators – we become. Indeed, my stories are always highly personal and subjective. No matter the starting point, the same themes seem to crop up. Namely, our inability to escape the past and prisons, partly of our own making.

My stories typically reflect the little man/woman, hidden or ignored by society. I also enjoy untold stories about women. My work has appeared in Love Sunday, Scribble, The Big Issue, The Morning Star, The People’s Friend, Barcelona INK.

My debut novel ‘No Name’ was longlisted for the Retreat West Prize 2020 and for the Spotlight First Novel Competition 2020 (under title ‘No Woman is an Island’.)

Favourite directors: Lynne Ramsay, Mike Leigh, Nic Roeg RIP, Thomas Vinterberg.

Favourite films: Festen, ’71, London to Brighton, Moonlight, Victoria, Manchester by the Sea.

Come Home Soon

Irene, a young migrant without friends or papers, works as a domestic slave in a rich woman’s home. Will she have to give up on her dream of a better life?

Festival Release – Summer 2016.

Selected Festivals – Hellfire Film Festival 2016, 4^th Festival Internazionale del Cinema Povero, Cardiff Mini Film Festival 2017, Accountability Film Festival, Nepal – 2017 (Semi-Finalist), Short Cine Fest, August 2018.

(drama, short, 9 mins)

Feedback from Oaxaca Film Festival: COME HOME SOON delves into the theme of modern slavery, while also showing us how the victim ends up resembling
her tormentor, transforming from frail to hardened by her survival instincts.

Cuckoo

After the death of her only child, a woman invites a young refugee into her home to help her gain closure. But a startling discovery threatens to tear the two women apart.

(contemporary drama, short, 12 mins)

Selected: Near Nazareth Festival 2017, Oregon Short Film Festival 2018, Script and Storyboard Showcase 2018, Austin Micro Short Film Festival 2018, Wimbledon Library Film Club – 2018 (Award Winner).

Status: available.

Girl Sniper

Set in a war-torn country, a young woman must carry out a hit on an elderly musician but the power of his music affects her decision to go through with the job.

(drama, short, 3 mins)

Selected: Rome Independent Prisma Awards – June 2018 (Semi-Finalist), Aab International Film Festival 2018, Independent Talents International Film Festival – 2018 (Semi-Finalist).

Status: available.