Johnson Cheng is a Chinese American writer/director from Los Angeles. His films have been official selections in competition at festivals such as Tribeca, TIFF, AFI FEST, and Slamdance. A member of the Directors Guild of America (DGA), Johnson was brought on by director Destin Daniel Cretton to direct on the first season of AMERICAN BORN CHINESE (Disney+), a genre-hopping action-comedy series. He has also directed multiple episodes of the drama series THE CHI (Paramount+ SHOWTIME) in Chicago, most recently returning to direct on the upcoming seventh season.
Johnson’s short films, written/directed in China, Japan, and his hometown of the San Gabriel Valley, include ONLY THE MOON STANDS STILL (Tribeca Film Festival, AFI FEST Audience Award), LONELY BLUE NIGHT (HBO APA Visionaries Award, AFI FEST Audience Award), and IRON HANDS (Tribeca Film Festival, TIFF). He is currently in post on A STORY OF DIVINE WIND, a jidaigeki film shot at Shochiku Studio, Kyoto.
As producer, Johnson’s films include Yun Xie’s debut feature, UNDER THE BURNING SUN (Slamdance Narrative Features Competition), King Lu’s SHOT CLOCK (LAAPFF), and Ben Del Vecchio’s MY FATHER’S HOUSE. In addition to filmmaking, Johnson has taught as a Lecturer at Pomona College, Harvey Mudd College, and Pitzer College. Johnson has served as a jury member at festivals such as AFI FEST and Jia Zhangke’s PYIFF.
Johnson is a recipient of the Princess Grace Award (Cary Grant Film Award) and fellowships such as Film Independent’s Project Involve (Writer/Director Fellow), Hillman Grad’s Rising Voices (Filmmaker in Residence), and Film at Lincoln Center’s NYFF Artist Academy. He was selected to be a Protégé in the DGA Director Development Initiative TV Mentorship Program.
Johnson holds an M.F.A. in Film Directing/Screenwriting with honors from Columbia University's Graduate Film Program, where his thesis film won the film school’s CUFF Best Film Award. He is a member of the Television Academy and is repped by WME.
