Pretty Fierce Films Inc. is a film and television production company located in Nova Scotia, Canada. Helmed by award-winning writer/director/producer Leah Johnston, the company was incorporated in 2015 with the mandate to create meaningful films through thoughtful and deliberate process. In defiance of the current culture which prioritizes “content” over form, the company’s aim is to slow down the process and return to the simple building blocks of good storytelling – solid structure, strong performances, and a unique authorial point of view. By putting the focus back on the process, PRETTY FIERCE strives to create moving films that will stand the test of time.
The company’s films have screened around the world in A-list competitions such as Shanghai International Film Festival, winning awards from multiple festivals.
FILMS
MOTHER’S SKIN
SHORT – DRAMA/FANTASY DRAMA, 20 MINUTES, 2022
A neglected six-year-old girl struggles to cope with her mother’s depression, uncovering a secret from her mother’s past.
PRODUCERS: LEAH JOHNSTON, JASON BUXTON
WRITER/DIRECTOR/EDITOR: LEAH JOHNSTON
STARRING: BRIAR MOSHER, RHIANNON MORGAN, JOEL THOMAS HYNES
Awards:
Winner: Best Short – Atlantic International Film Festival Winner: Joan Orenstein Award for Outstanding Performance – Briar Ainslie – Atlantic International Film Festival Winner: Outstanding Performance by an Actor – Briar Ainslie – ACTRA Awards Nominee: WIFT-AT Best Director Award Nominee: Best Short – Screen Nova Scotia Awards
Festivals: Shanghai International Film Festival – Finalist: Golden Goblet Competition (China), Olhar de Cinema – Curitiba International Film Festival (Brazil), Cinema on the Bayou (US premiere), Thessaloniki International Shorts Film Festival (Greece), Festival Internacional de Curtas de Verín (Spain), Atlantic International Film Festival (Winner – Best Short, Best Performance by a Leading Actress), Vancouver International Film Festival, Festival du Nouveau Cinema, Silver Wave Film Festival, Charlottetown Film Festival, Vancouver International Women in Film Festival, Festival Filministes, Nickel Film Festival
Two children discover a black hole and imagine what it would be like to travel through time.
PRODUCERS: LEAH JOHNSTON, WALTER FORSYTH
WRITER/DIRECTOR: LEAH JOHNSTON
STARRING: MOLLY DUNSWORTH, HANS PETTERSON, JORDAN POOLE, MIA PERRY, RENA KOSSATZ, JOSH MACDONALD
Awards:
Winner: Best Canadian Short- Edmonton International Film Festival Winner: Best Film, Best Screenplay, Best Editing, Best Technical Achievement- Vancouver Island Short Film Fest Winner: Best Canadian Short- Silver Wave Film Festival Winner: Best Actress in a Supporting Role: Molly Dunsworth as “Ingrid”- ACTRA Maritimes Winner: Best Actor Jordan Poole as “Young Conrad”- Young Performer Awards Winner: $35,000 WIFT/Bravofact Pitch prize Nominee: Best Short Subject- Yorkton Golden Sheaf Awards
Broadcasts: CBC Reflections 2017, CBC Reel East Coast, Air Canada- Not Short on Talent 2017
Festivals: Cannes Film Festival -Telefilm’s Not Short on Talent, Fantasia International Film Festival, CBC Short Film Gala- Atlantic Film Festival, Edmonton International Film Festival, Festival de Cinema de la Ville Quebec, Yorkton Film Festival, National Arts Centre of Canada, Charlottetown Film Festival, St. John’s International Women’s Film Festival, Showcase Truro Film Festival, Parrsboro Film Festival, Silver Wave Film Festival, Blood in the Snow Film Festival, Little Terrors Festival-Monthly Screening Series, Vancouver Island Short Film Festival, Reel to Real Int’l Film Festival for Youth, Toxic Nova Cinema Screening Series, ShorTS International Film Festival, Reel Shorts Film Festival, Halifax Independent Film Festival, Female Eye Film Festival.
Winner: 2014 Linda Joy Award. Awarded funding from Nova Scotia Arts Council. Winner: Platinum Remi Award- Worldfest Houston Nominee: Best Canadian Short- Silver Wave Film Festival Nominee: Best Actress- ACTRA Maritimes awards
Broadcasts: CBC Reel Coast Program- 2016
Festivals: Shorts International Film Festival- Maremetraggio, Atlantic Film Festival, Worldfest Houston, Silver Wave Film Festival, Spotlight Gala: Showcase Truro Film Festival, Parrsboro Film Festival, NSI Online Film Festival
The company is currently developing Ms. Johnston’s first feature and is in second phase development on two television series: a tween sci-fi series with showrunner Rachael Schaefer (The Next Step) and Executive Producer Michael Goldsmith (Malory Towers) supported by Bell Fund/CMF, and a true-crime mini-series with co-creator Jason Buxton (Blackbird, Sharp Corner).
