Kirsten Johnson (born 12 October 1965, Seattle) is a cinematographer and documentary filmmaker. She graduated from Brown University in 1987, with a BA in Fine Arts and Literature. After two years in West Africa working on local fiction and documentary film projects, she attended the FEMIS (the French National Film School) in Paris. Her film "Cameraperson" premiered at Sundance 2016 and her short "The Above" premiered at 2015 New York Film Festival. Her work as a cinematographer appears in Oscar-winning "Citizen Four," Academy Award-nominated, "The Invisible War," Tribeca winner, "Pray the Devil Back to Hell," "Fahrenheit 9/11", Academy Award-nominated "Asylum," "This Film is Not Yet Rated," and "Derrida."
Known For
Citizenfour
(2014)
Director of Photography
Fahrenheit 9/11
(2004)
Additional Camera
This Film Is Not Yet Rated
(2006)
Director of Photography
Yelling To The Sky
(2011)
Still Photographer
Full Filmography
Camera
Il faut que je l'aime
(1994)
Director of Photography
Perpetua 664
(2001)
Director of Photography
Brother Born Again
(2001)
Director of Photography
Trembling Before G-d
(2001)
Additional Camera
Journey to the West: Chinese Medicine Today
(2001)
Director of Photography
Profit & Nothing But! Or Impolite Thoughts on the Class Struggle
(2001)
Director of Photography
American Standoff
(2002)
Director of Photography
Two Towns of Jasper
(2002)
Additional Camera
Ancient Poison, Modern Cure
(2002)
Camera Operator
Derrida
(2002)
Director of Photography
Starring Osama Bin Laden
(2003)
Camera Operator
A Decade Under the Influence
(2003)
Additional Camera
India
(2003)
Camera Operator
A Nation on Edge
(2003)
Camera Operator
Chasing the Virus
(2003)
Camera Operator
Risk/Reward
(2003)
Additional Photography
Rokia: Voice of a New Generation
(2003)
Director of Photography
Asylum
(2003)
Director of Photography
Ladies First
(2004)
Director of Photography
Fahrenheit 9/11
(2004)
Additional Camera
Deadline
(2004)
Director of Photography
The Venetian Dilemma
(2004)
Additional Photography
Building to Extremes
(2004)
Camera Operator
Red Hook Justice
(2005)
Director of Photography
Project Leap: Learning Out Loud
(2005)
Director of Photography
This Film Is Not Yet Rated
(2006)
Director of Photography
Welcome Back to the Barrio
(2006)
Second Assistant Camera
How Much Is Your Life Worth?
(2007)
Additional Camera
Election Day
(2007)
Director of Photography
Small Steps: Creating the High School for Contemporary Arts
(2007)
Director of Photography
Captain Mike Across America
(2007)
Director of Photography
Slacker Uprising
(2007)
Director of Photography
Darfur Now
(2007)
Director of Photography
Crime Fiction
(2007)
Director of Photography
Lioness
(2008)
Director of Photography
Throw Down Your Heart
(2008)
Director of Photography
Oscar's Comeback
(2008)
Director of Photography
Pray the Devil Back to Hell
(2008)
Director of Photography
Outrage
(2009)
Additional Camera
The Edge of Joy
(2010)
Additional Camera
The Oath
(2010)
Director of Photography
No Woman, No Cry
(2010)
Director of Photography
The War We Are Living
(2011)
Director of Photography
The Lady Is a Fighting Lion
(2011)
Director of Photography
I Came to Testify
(2011)
Director of Photography
Yelling To The Sky
(2011)
Still Photographer
Here One Day
(2012)
Director of Photography
Virgin Tales
(2012)
Director of Photography
The Program
(2012)
Director of Photography
A Place at the Table
(2012)
Director of Photography
The Invisible War
(2012)
Director of Photography
Fatal Assistance
(2013)
Director of Photography
Seeds of Time
(2013)
Camera Operator
ANNIE: It's the Hard-Knock Life, from Script to Stage
(2013)
Additional Photography
That Film About Money
(2014)
Director of Photography
1971
(2014)
Director of Photography
Citizenfour
(2014)
Director of Photography
Born to Fly: Elizabeth Streb vs. Gravity
(2014)
Director of Photography
The Wound and the Gift
(2014)
Director of Photography
Buffalo Returns
(2015)
Director of Photography
The Armor of Light
(2015)
Additional Photography
Once a Month on Sunday
(2015)
Director of Photography
The Above
(2015)
Director of Photography
Very Semi-Serious
(2015)
Director of Photography
A Woman Like Me
(2015)
Director of Photography
A Thousand Mothers
(2016)
Director of Photography
Audrie & Daisy
(2016)
Additional Camera
The Joy of Extreme Possibility
(2016)
Director of Photography
Cameraperson
(2016)
Director of Photography
Trapped
(2016)
Director of Photography
Atomic Homefront
(2017)
Additional Camera
Betting on Zero
(2017)
Additional Director of Photography
32 Pills: My Sister's Suicide
(2017)
Additional Photography
Risk
(2017)
Director of Photography
Crime + Punishment
(2018)
Camera Operator
Cradle of Champions
(2018)
Additional Camera
A Thousand Thoughts
(2018)
Director of Photography
Museum Town
(2019)
Director of Photography
Elliott Erwitt - Silence Sounds Good
(2019)
Director of Photography
On the Record
(2020)
Additional Camera
Dick Johnson Is Dead
(2020)
Director of Photography
Acting
This Film Is Not Yet Rated
(2006)
Self - Interviewer (voice)
Cameraperson
(2016)
Self (archive footage)
In the Service of the Film
(2017)
self
ROOM H.264: Brooklyn, NY, June 2016
(2018)
self
Dick Johnson Is Dead
(2020)
Self
Subject
(2023)
Self
The Arc of Oblivion
(2023)
Self
Writing
Directing
Bintou in Paris
(1995)
Director
Innocent Until Proven Guilty
(1999)
Director
Deadline
(2004)
Director
The Above
(2015)
Director
Cameraperson
(2016)
Director
Dick Johnson Is Dead
(2020)
Director
Production
Election Day
(2007)
Producer
Waiting for Mercy: The Case Against Mohammed Hossain and Yassin Aref
(2009)
Co-Producer
The Program
(2012)
Producer
Citizenfour
(2014)
Co-Producer
The Above
(2015)
Producer
Cameraperson
(2016)
Producer
Risk
(2017)
Co-Producer
Brooklyn Inshallah
(2018)
Consulting Producer
Mother
(2020)
Executive Producer
Dick Johnson Is Dead
(2020)
Producer
A Photographic Memory
(2024)
Executive Producer
Editing
Waiting for Mercy: The Case Against Mohammed Hossain and Yassin Aref
(2009)
Editor
The Lady Is a Fighting Lion
(2011)
Assistant Editor
Crew