Today we’d like to introduce you to John Berardo.
Hi John, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I’m originally from Norman, Oklahoma, and I’ve always had the drive to push my creative boundaries. I moved to Los Angeles in August 2005, took a year off after high school to settle into the city, and then started school while working all kinds of jobs to make it work.
I earned my BA from UCLA in Theater with a minor in Film, Television, and Digital Media, and later completed my MFA at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts. In 2013, I wrote and directed a short horror film called DEMBANGER for USC’s Media Institute for Social Change. The short received great feedback and eventually inspired my first feature, INITIATION.
In 2014, I directed iLA for Armani’s “Films of City Frames,” which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. That same year, I also directed the PSA Post and Text Responsibly for CBS2/KCAL9, which earned a Los Angeles Emmy nomination.
My feature debut, DEMBANGER, was selected to premiere at SXSW, Screamfest, and Sitges in 2020, and was released theatrically and worldwide in 2021 by XYZ Films, Saban Films, and Lionsgate under the title INITIATION. My second feature, THE MANNEQUIN, went into production in 2023 under a SAG interim agreement and is set for release by JackRabbit Media in fall 2025.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
There’s always struggles, but I’m lucky to have a great support system and ability to visualize the future goals I want to achieve. When I cross those moments of struggle, each time it gets easier and easier to figure out how to keep moving forward.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m a filmmaker and storyteller who loves exploring the darker corners of human nature through horror, thriller, and elevated genre films. I write and direct projects that are visual, emotional, and layered, stories that use fear and suspense to say something deeper about identity, trauma, and the world we live in. I’ve always been drawn to horror not just for the scares, but for how it can hold a mirror to real-life anxieties and turn them into something cinematic and cathartic.
I’m probably best known for my feature debut Initiation, a social slasher that started as a short film I made in grad school at USC. It premiered at SXSW and was later released by Saban Films and Lionsgate. My upcoming feature The Mannequin continues that blend of genre and psychology, it’s a surreal, stylized horror film about loss, identity, and letting go of lost hopes and dreams. I’m also currently developing an adaptation of a book I loved growing up, so in a way it feels like coming full circle.
What I’m most proud of is that every project I’ve made has come from a deeply personal place, and each one has been built independently from the ground up, through collaboration, resourcefulness, and a lot of creative persistence. I’ve never had a huge studio behind me, but I’ve had amazing teams who believe in the stories we’re telling.
What probably sets me apart is my approach to visual storytelling and emotional subtext. I come from both a theater and film background, so I’m always thinking about performance, rhythm, and how to express a feeling visually before anyone says a word. My films mix grounded human emotion with stylized, almost surreal imagery, something that feels both cinematic and deeply personal.
We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
I’m a portrait sketch artist. I was born with the gift of being able to draw people’s faces really well. I credit it to the dozens of drafts of Neve Campbell sketches as a kid.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://shatterprooffilms.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/johnberardo
- Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2403746/
Image Credits
Rafael Reyes, Adam Epelbaum, Maxwell Hamilton
