If you’ve ever passed a charming storefront in Tampa Bay and spotted someone out front serving bold opinions and even bolder visuals, chances are it was Juniper Johnson. With a recognizable style, quick-witted captions, and a flair for cinematic storytelling, the St. Pete-born filmmaker is quickly carving out a space for herself as one of the area’s most exciting emerging creatives.
“I’ve always been a visual person,” Johnson said. “What got me into filmmaking was a lot of things, my family recorded everything. I grew up in a funny family watching Rush Hour and Superbad on repeat, and a lot of YouTubers, I knew I wanted to make people feel good. But watching A24 films, especially The Last Black Man in San Francisco, really changed how I thought about cinema, how it can make people feel.”
Juniper began as a photographer before diving into video, later studying screenwriting at an art school in Sarasota. That layered creative background shapes everything she does, from intimate street-style videos to music videos and short films.
Cinematic style brought to St. Pete storefronts
Juniper doesn’t work with strict scripts or long shot lists. Instead, she follows what she calls “strategic impulse.”…