Johnny Symons

Johnny Symons is a documentary filmmaker focusing on LGBT cultural and political issues. He is a professor in the Cinema Department at San Francisco State University,[1] where he runs the documentary program and is the director and co-founder of the Queer Cinema Project.[2] He received his BA from Brown University and his MA in documentary production from Stanford University. He has served as a Fellow in the Sundance Institute’s Documentary Film Program.[3]

His latest film, Out Run,[4] co-directed with award-winning filmmaker S. Leo Chiang, premiered at the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival[5] and won Best Cinematography for a Feature Length Documentary Film at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival.[6] His documentary Daddy & Papa, about the personal, cultural, and political impact of gay men raising children,[7][8] premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, broadcast on PBS’s Independent Lens, and was nominated for a national Emmy for Best Documentary.[9][10] Ask Not,[11] his award-winning feature-length documentary about the impact of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy in the US military,[12] also aired on Independent Lens.[13] Beyond Conception, a feature documentary about the relationship between a lesbian surrogate and a gay male couple, broadcast on Discovery Channel. Symons was co-producer of Long Night's Journey Into Day, which won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary at the Sundance Film Festival and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Feature Documentary.[14]

  1. ^ Cruz, Gospel. "Professor Johnny Symons' 'Out Run' inspires at international film fests". San Francisco State University. Retrieved 20 July 2017.
  2. ^ "Queer Cinema Institute". San Francisco State University.
  3. ^ "DOCUMENTARY FILM PROGRAM PROVIDES $1.5 MM IN GRANT SUPPORT TO FILMMAKERS IN FY2014". Sundance Institute.
  4. ^ MATZEN, KELSEY. "LGBTQ+ filmmakers screen documentary for National Coming Out Day". Golden Gate Express. Retrieved 20 July 2017.
  5. ^ Wissot, Lauren (19 April 2016). "Directors Leo Chiang and Johnny Symons Talk Screening LGBT Doc Out Run in Boycott State North Carolina". Filmmaker Magazine. Retrieved 20 July 2017.
  6. ^ MYERS, RANDY (6 June 2016). "Frameline 2016: 10 films to see at 'King of Queer' film festivals". The Mercury News. Retrieved 20 July 2017.
  7. ^ Wilkinson, Kathleen (21 February 2002). "Choosing Fatherhood / Johnny Symons' "Daddy & Papa" looks at gay men becoming dads". SF Gate. Retrieved 20 July 2017.
  8. ^ Pullen, Christopher (2007). Documenting Gay Men: Identity and Performance in Reality Television and Documentary Film. Jefferson, North Carolina, and London: McFarland & Company, Inc. pp. 17–18. ISBN 9780786428076. documenting gay men christopher pullen.
  9. ^ "THE 25th ANNUAL NEWS AND DOCUMENTARY EMMY AWARD NOMINEES ANNOUNCED TODAY BY THE NATIONAL TELEVISION ACADEMY" (PDF). No. 25. National Television Academy. National Television Academy. July 8, 2004. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
  10. ^ "Independent Lens: Daddy & Papa". PBS.
  11. ^ Frank, Dr. Nathaniel (February 2010). Gays in foreign militaries 2010: A global primer. Palm Center, Blueprints for Sound Public Policy.
  12. ^ Newsweek Staff (5 June 2009). "WORTH IT: PBS DOCUMENTARY ON DON'T ASK, DON'T TELL". Newsweek. Retrieved 20 July 2017.
  13. ^ Perry, Tony (23 June 2009). "Review: 'Independent Lens: Ask Not' on KCET". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 20 July 2017.
  14. ^ MITCHELL, ELVIS (6 October 2022). "FILM REVIEW; Following South Africa's Wrenching Road to Truth". The New York Times.