John Milton Branton

John Milton Branton is an award-winning filmmaker, screenwriter, producer, and former Head of Production for Benetone Films Thailand, with extensive experience across feature film, international production, theatre, and psychologically driven genre storytelling. He directed the political thriller Dark Power starring Sean Patrick Flanery, Kristanna Loken, Chris Carmack, Morgan Fairchild, and Kevin Dobson, and the psychological thriller Absolute Fear starring Patrick Bergin, which he also wrote and co-produced. His award-winning period drama Tears of a Lotus screened at more than 30 international film festivals, including selections in Bilbao, Palm Springs, Toronto, and Montreal, and later aired internationally. His directing work on Tears of a Lotus and speechless earned multiple international festival awards, including Best Film and Best Director. Branton’s production and second unit directing credits span action, thriller, and horror productions across Thailand, China, Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines, including Pound of Flesh starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, Abduction starring Scott Adkins and Andy On, Zombie Tidal Wave directed by Anthony C. Ferrante and starring Ian Ziering, Special Ops starring Steven Bauer, Pernicious, and 26 episodes of The New Addams Family for Fox. As Head of Production at Benetone Films Thailand, he also worked on Death of Me, starring Maggie Q and Luke Hemsworth, directed by Darren Lynn Bousman, and on Ponniyin Selvan: I, directed by Mani Ratnam. His short films and screenplays have screened at more than 50 international festivals and received numerous awards for Best Film, Best Director, and Best Screenplay. He also co-produced Stealing Roses, which won Best of Fest at the LA Comedy Festival. Originally trained as an actor, Branton appeared in more than 50 stage productions, television programs, and feature films before moving into directing and producing. He is a produced playwright and former Artistic Director of four professional theatre companies. Productions under his direction received 17 Sterling Award nominations, winning seven, including Best New Play and Best New Musical. Branton holds an MFA from York University in Toronto, is a graduate of Vancouver Film School, and studied screenwriting with Robert McKee and Alan Watt. He divides his time between Vancouver and Southeast Asia, where he continues to develop feature films and internationally focused genre projects.