Kirsten Johnson

Kirsten Johnson (born 1965) is an American documentary filmmaker and cinematographer. She is mostly known for her camera work on several well-known feature-length documentaries such as Citizenfour and The Oath. In 2016, she released Cameraperson, a film which consists of various pieces of footage from her decades of work all over the world as a documentary cinematographer. Directed by Johnson herself, Cameraperson went on to be praised for its handling of themes about documentary ethics interwoven with Johnson's personal reflection on her experiences. Movies that Johnson has either filmed or directed have received numerous nominations and awards over the years, and she is now a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Early life Kirsten Johnson was born in 1965. Her father is C. Richard Johnson, a psychiatrist. Johnson was raised in Seattle and Wyoming in a Seventh-day Adventist family who placed restrictions on her access to film and television. She had no exposure to the medium until she attended Brown University. At Brown, Johnson was involved in Students Against Apartheid and took classes with Anani Dzidzienyo, who influenced her significantly.