H A R A B E K
BLACK METAL
A black teen is determined to make it as a heavy metal artist in defiance
of his father, a failed jazz musician.
Short Film: Winner of the Spring 2022 M Film Lab and Produced by Open Screenplay
Starring
Thaddeus Newman
Darian Michael Garey
Darius Marquis Johnson
Joshua Loudermilk
Hannah Kwon
Billy Hayes
Oliver Fredin
and
Colin Lang
Written and Directed by Michael Hyon Johnson
Executive Producers - Mohannad Malas, Khaled Sabawi, and Sami Sabawi
Produced by Zade Akkad
Director of Photography - Brody Anderson
Production Designer - Carrie Liu
Wardrobe Supervisor - Hunter Freeman
VFX Supervisor - Jameson Mitchell
Edited by Kyle Kogan
.png)
LOST THE LEAD
After witnessing a violent swatting prank, a disgraced video game champion recruits a diverse group of nerds to take down his former corporate sponsor.
TV Pilot/Webseries: Best Pilot - Project Nerd Film Festival; Best Editing - LA Webfest
Starring
Tristan Turner
Keenan Gibson
Maple Leung
Celia Schilling
Anika Kokatay
Aubrey Postier
Bennett Reeber
and
Landon Lee
Written and Directed by Michael Hyon Johnson
Produced by Christine H. Cho and Amanda Dwyer
Director of Photography - Robert Chuck
VFX Supervisor - Jameson Mitchell
Edited by Miles Wilson
THIS WILL DESTROY YOU
An Army soldier home on holiday hides her dark past from family and friends during a Memorial Day barbecue.
Starring
Gemma Scoble
Nick Burchard
Ernie Stifel
William Gibson III
and
Ryon Thomas
Written and Directed by Michael Hyon Johnson
Produced by Cheyton Jain and Carlos Herrera Trujillo
Production Designer - Andres Gaitan
Director of Photography - Keyhan Bayegan
VFX Supervisor - Jameson Mitchell
Edited by Sydney Baker
Electric Entertainment | Director of Operations - ElectricNow | 2024 -
Black Metal | Writer & Director | 2023
Winner of the M Film Lab Screenwriting Fellowship 2022
Lost the Lead | Writer & Director | 2023
Best Pilot: Project Nerd Film Festival 2023, Best Editing: LA WebFest 2023
Immortals Esports | Producer | 2022 - 2023
Koji | Content Production Manager | 2022
Honhyeol | Writer & Director | 2022
Best Screenplay and Best Directing: Asian American Film Lab 2022
Being Free | Cinematographer | Produced by Roadtrip Nation | 2022
Caring Forward | Cinematographer | Produced by Roadtrip Nation | 2022
Mia Makes A Cut Crease Video | Writer & Director | 2020
Best Actress: Asian American Film Lab 2020
This Will Destroy You | Writer & Director | 2020
Best American Film: LA Cinematography Awards, Best Cinematography: Virgin Spring Festival
BuzzFeed | Video Producer | 2021
Electric Entertainment | Streaming and Operations Manager | 2019 - 2021
I Can See the Star | Cinematographer | Directed by Xiao Ni | 2019
Perennial | Cinematographer | Directed by Aaron Ellis | 2019
Sisters | Cinematographer | Directed by Chandler Freelander | 2019
Axios | Writer & Director | 2017
Festival Heart: Intendence Film Festival 2017
Ménage a Terror | Writer & Director | 2016
Chest of Doom | Writer & Director | 2016
The Wolf Among Us | Writer & Director | 2015
Top 15 Denver Film Race
PreGame Lobby | Writer & Director
Produced by Machinima Inc | 2008 - 2011
HARABEK - the mononym for Michael Hyon Johnson - a BlacKorean Air Force veteran and writer/director. He's produced award winning narrative short films, music videos, and branded content and is the co-founder of the video production company Story Mode.
Michael's work focuses on characters from lower income families, mixed race protagonists, and ensemble casts navigating uncomfortable conversations and difficult themes.
Michael earned a MFA from Chapman University and is the winner of the M Film Lab 2022 Spring program. He was also selected as a mentee the Netflix Animation Foundation's writing program, the Writer’s Guild Foundation’s: Veteran’s Writing Project; and is a VME - AT&T Veterans Media Fellow.
You can contact Michael directly at Michael@storymode.film.
Read more at VoyageLA
