Meet Rae Johnson | Filmmaker

We had the good fortune of connecting with Rae Johnson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Rae, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
I pursued a creative career because it is what made the most sense to me. I learned early on that I loved learning about people and about telling their stories and finding the commonality between strangers. I believe filmmaking has the power to achieve that. It has the ability to take a story and reveal a universal truth that can resonate with others and remind them that they’re not alone in what they’ve gone through.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Filmmaking is hard mentally and physically. It requires time, effort, and a certain level of vulnerability at times. It’s a job where you have to keep going, keep pushing, keep pursuing the next project tenaciously. Even now, I don’t think my run to where I want to be is over. I don’t thank I’m anywhere close to where I want to be.

My biggest obstacle through it all has been myself. My own insecurity and anxiety that has let me push off opportunities or even downright ignore them at times. It’s cheesy to say that I’m where I am today because I started saying “Yes”, but that is exactly what happened. I said yes to everything, small jobs, big jobs, jobs that involved travel, everything!. I said yes to it all. It’s terrifying and it’s not easy. I often have to say yes before I convince myself to say no. And then then entire time I’m spent convincing myself that I will enjoy this and I will have fun, and that it’s just my own mind telling me no because I’m scared to take that risk.

But you need to take risks. That’s kind of what this career is all about. Taking risks, pushing boundaries and trying things that haven’t been done before, all in pursuit of delivering a story that means something to you. For me at least, every project has a spec of my personality in it. It might not come across on screen, but I like to believe it comes across in the relationships and friendships I build on set. The opportunities I find, and the opportunities I create for myself and others. What I take away from my experience outweighs the nagging insecurity that wanted me to say no in the first place.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
58th & Pena Boulevard is a corner on a crossroads near where I grew up. Every time a friend or a family member comes to town during a full moon, I always ask them if they’d like to come see the moon for me. It’s the edge of the neighborhood where their’s nothing but fields as you look out past E-470. When the moon is big, it looks like it’s only a few feet from the ground and with no buildings there yet, you get an uninterrupted view of it.

I’ve always not been a city person – ironic, since I grew up in Denver. I’ve always been the one to take my friends on late night drives – no destination in sight. We’ll drive through the mountains for hours, music playing windows down. I think, that’s probably the best Colorado as a whole has to offer. Its nature and the small pockets through out the city that allows you to step away and breathe.

Then of course, if you’re looking for a spectacle, the Art District on Santa Fe is the first place I’d go. It’s got amazing artwork everywhere and is so colorful compared to Downtown Denver. It’s full of studios, and creative events by the artists that work within it. I remember my first job interview out there – they took me out for coffee and we spent the whole walk admiring the artwork along the buildings. To this day it’s etched into my brain and I don’t think it’s going anywhere anytime soon!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
One of my closest friends, Adah Fretwell, is amazing in supporting me and throwing my name to other filmmakers to help me keep pursuing my career. She’s always finding opportunities and then stretching her hand back to allow her friends to pursue success along with her.

The of course, my own mother who has stood by my side through everything. Every stressful project, last minute changes, all nighters and early mornings. From the long drives to sets only to return home at 4am, she’s stood by my side and made sure that with everything going on I still took care of myself and my own wellbeing. If not for her, I never would have pushed myself out of bed to keep doing this every day.