ABOUT ME

"I strive to make social-issue-driven neo noir films (not necessarily detective stories), with protagonists from the margins of society who confront, and in turn become complicit in, the world’s corruption. I have a soft spot for characters who feel like they’re stuck between two worlds, lowbrow art forms like comic books and hip hop, and the point at which spoken dialogue becomes music. I’m not interested in good, evil or preaching to the choir. I aim for realism when writing, but I direct with an eye toward mythology."

Kali Baker-Johnson is a Brooklyn-based, New Jersey-born filmmaker, college professor, and comic book writer. His feature film debut, Feel Like Ghosts, won the Best Director and Best Screenplay awards at the 2022 American Black Film Festival. His screenwriting has been recognized by the Academy Nicholl Fellowships, the Sundance Institute and the Austin Film Festival. He was a Directing Fellow at Chapman University’s graduate film program in Orange, CA and during his time on the West Coast he collaborated with Oscar-winning producer Cathy Schulman as one of Chapman’s O.L. Halsell Scholars, worked in development for Oscar-nominated producing duo Ron Yerxa and Albert Berger, and shadowed Emmy-winning director Millicent Shelton. His short films have screened internationally in film festivals, as well as in programs for domestic abuse education, in centers for at-risk youth, and in New York's Time Square. As a freelance videographer, Kali has over 15 years of experience creating media across multiple genres and formats and has worked with brands such as NBC, VH1, Foot Locker, EbonyJet, and Avalon Television. He used to be able to dunk and, every once in a while, he still has a good day on the basketball court.