Brian D. Johnson

Brian D. Johnson writes about film and the arts for Maclean’s. He’s also a filmmaker, and director of the annual Toronto Film Critics Association Awards Gala.
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Culture

The crusade for menstrual equity

At any given moment, about 800 million people around the world are menstruating, many in secrecy and shame. A Canadian feature-length documentary finally gives airtime to menstrual rights.
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Culture

14 Oscar-worthy films at the Toronto International Film Festival

From Renée Zellweger making a comeback as Judy Garland to Joaquin Phoenix playing the Joker to Michael B. Jordan and Jamie Foxx’s dramatic retelling of a Harvard law graduate’s fight for those wrongfully convicted in the South—the 14 TIFF films you’ll likely see at the Academy Awards
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Culture

Xavier Dolan’s next act

The 30-year-old Québécois director has made eight films in 10 years. He may have outgrown the ’wunderkind’ label, but he’s got plenty of time to reboot his career.