How Evan and Galen Johnson went from Winnipeg to Cannes

When Evan and Galen Johnson attended the premiere of their new movie Rumours at the renowned Cannes Film Festival, they were just as terrified as they were excited. Not because of the pomp and ceremony that surrounds the most famous film festival on the globe. Instead, this was the first time that Rumours, which the Johnson brothers co-wrote and co-directed with Guy Maddin, was being screened for audiences. 

“That’s the most painful thing to do,” Galen, who is the senior of the brothers, tells The Flatlander over Zoom. The pair were very aware, too, that their horror comedy might not be to everyone’s taste. Starring Cate Blanchett, Charles Dance, Roy Dupuis, and Alicia Vikander, Rumours revolves around a group of world leaders who meet at the G7 to write a joint statement on a global crisis, only to get lost in the woods and be menaced by zombiesque bog bodies, which makes them confront their own complicated relationships with each other. 

“After the premiere, at around 2am, you’re at the after-party and suddenly all the reviews start pouring in,” remembers Evan. “Ours have generally been good.” While he admits that part of him wanted Rumours to receive rave reviews like Anora, the sex comedy that won the Palme d’Or, he knows that was always unlikely considering the film’s surreal content. “We made a weird thing,” says Galen. “Even when we were making it, we were like, ‘Is this something? What is this?’ We just wanted to be true to ourselves.”

Growing up in the small town of Pinawa, Manitoba, which is located around 115 kilometers north-east of Winnipeg, Galen and Evan weren’t particularly close. Galen was the first to move to Winnipeg, where he studied Environmental Design at the University of Manitoba before working in the architecture industry for several years. When Evan arrived a few years later, the pair decided to live together. “We lived in this huge apartment with two other people,” says Galen. “There was a lot of weed smoking, instrument playing, and watching movies. It was just very creative and collaborative.” 

Evan studied film and philosophy at the University Of Manitoba. Galen even helped him make a few of his short films. This is also where Evan met and struck up a friendship with Maddin, who was teaching a course on melodramas. He is also regarded as one of Canada’s most preeminent filmmakers, having overseen the likes of My, Winnipeg and The Saddest Music In The World. 

Related:

Winnipeg’s Guy Maddin satire skewers G7 leaders. Cate Blanchett says it felt like a documentary

“(Maddin) can make a film that’s so specifically about Winnipeg and his childhood, and yet I watch it gasping and weeping and not fully comprehending what I’m seeing while on the other side of the world,” Blanchett said.

Read more.

“He hired me as an assistant,” says Evan. “I was more interested than a lot of his other students.” As Evan worked on more of Maddin’s projects, he brought in Galen as a production designer. When Evan and Guy had to travel to Paris for two months for a film, they hired Galen again.. This meant he had to quit his architecture job. “It was easy to quit the 9-5 job. But after that I was like, ‘Guys, I’m with you now.”

Since then, the trio have collaborated on around a dozen short projects together. When COVID-19 hit, Evan decided to focus on a feature, the result of which was Rumours. “We all came up with the idea together and discussed the story beats. Then I would go off and write and bring it back for guidance,” says Evan. The final script attracted an all-star cast of Oscar, Screen Actors Guild, and Critics Choice award winners, who the Johnson brothers suddenly had to instruct on set. “I just remember thinking, ‘Can I say this to Cate Blanchett?’ But then you get over it. Because, sure she has this presence, but she’s so funny and nice, plus we got to know her, so it became easy to ask her to do another take,” explains Galen. 

With Rumours now out, the pair already have their eyes set on their next project. “We have a TV series that we’ve been developing for years. We’re doing one big push to see if it happens,” says Galen. Whatever they end up making, expect it to again be inspired by their connection to Manitoba. “I tend to be drawn to material about isolation, isolated groups and communities,” says Evan. “That’s partially down to Winnipeg. It’s probably down to Pinawa. That’s a very isolated and unique place. Hopefully we can continue to keep our work distinct in that way, too.”