Skip to content

Young filmmaker hopes to teach the importance of life's director

At the young age of 13, Matthias Johnson had already begun production of his first film, and by the age of 18, had directed and produced his third. God Directed is a Christian based film about three boys trying to find their way in the world.
A young filmmaker is hoping to teach people a thing or two about life’s director through his film, God Directed.
A young filmmaker is hoping to teach people a thing or two about life’s director through his film, God Directed.

At the young age of 13, Matthias Johnson had already begun production of his first film, and by the age of 18, had directed and produced his third.

God Directed is a Christian based film about three boys trying to find their way in the world. By the end of the film, they come to the realization that God had already written the script of their lives, and they should, like in the movies, allow him to direct and guide them.

Last month, Matthias shared his film with Bonnyville at the Centennial Centre, accepting donations to help fund his next project. About 50 people attended each showing, a turnout the young director was quite pleased with.

Matthias is the fourth generation in his family to grow up travelling from coast to coast on a bus as part of the Johnson Family Ministries, singing gospel and selling his movies along the way. The family made Bonnyville somewhat of a home base, and even shot some of their film throughout the Lakeland.

Ben Johnson, Matthias' father, said in making God Directed, they are hoping to encourage families to “take a stand for Jesus, and be strong for the Lord.”

The idea was born through another film, which had been tabled due to script and content complications.

“We had this hard idea for one film that we were going to do, and lots of things were lined up for it, but towards the end there were a few problems we started noticing,” said Matthias, adding they were unsure of how viewers would feel about some of the subject matter of the film.

“I didn't feel like going backwards because we felt like we were so involved with this film already,” he added.

It was at this point that Ben stepped in, and let his son down easy by telling him now was simply not the time. The following day, Ben pitched his idea for a second film, and together they began brainstorming. The end result, was God Directed.

Using sticky notes and the cupboards of their bus, the pair created a basic story line.

“It's so easy to switch things around, to just maneuver it and move it to where you feel it best fits,” explained Matthias about his sticky note method that helped get the basic story line down, with details to come later on in the process.

He learned the method during a two-week film school for young Christian filmmakers like himself. The school was based out of California. In previous years, Matthias attended two-day camps in Alberta, where he was recognized time and time again for his work, giving them a bit of an advantage in terms of filming.

The name, God Directed, took on layers of meanings as the story of both the film itself and the family creating it, began to unfold.

For the three main characters, which are movie directors, they battle through various events forcing them to abandon their production for an unknown period of time.

“In the end, they really just find out that while they were directing these movies and directing other people, they were being directed by God, under their story,” described Matthias.

Ben added on his son's comment, that the movie also reminds a person that just because they don't understand something doesn't mean they are not on the right path, and to “trust their director.”

For the family, they too at times felt as though God was directing them throughout the creation of the film.

“We really thought, wow this movie really is God directed,” Matthias added.

Seeing his film come to life on the big screen after two and a half years of work was bittersweet.

Matthias said, “It's happy that it is finally done… but I think it is also sad because I have had the chance to work with some really amazing people.”

In total, over 200 volunteers took part in the making of the film, with a number of Bonnyville residents lending a hand when the family was in town shooting. The movie was filmed in 10 different states and two provinces, and was described by Ben as neat to create as they pieced together the puzzle.

So far in his filmmaking career, Matthias has created two previous films, both centralized around a main character called Wild Wyatt Willoby.

“They are kind of like Indiana Jones. I think it all started when he was a kid, and wasn't allowed to watch Indiana Jones, so he said, well I will make my own,” described Ben.

The film was truly a family affair, as brothers acted together, family members took over as the camera crew and also helped behind the scenes.

Matthias recalled a time when he was approached by one of the actors in the film, who said he was truly blessed to see a family work together on something so meaningful.

“We were thinking wow, the movie isn't even out yet and people are already coming to us and saying that our movie blessed them,” he described.

Overall, the family hopes viewers take at least one lesson home with them, to trust that everything will be okay, and the end result is going to be how your story was written.

Ben said, “When we trust the director of our lives, we have to trust the script and what it says.”

push icon
Be the first to read breaking stories. Enable push notifications on your device. Disable anytime.
No thanks