Johnson Cheng is a Chinese American writer/director from Los Angeles. His films have been official selections at festivals such as the Tribeca, TIFF, Slamdance, and AFI FEST. A member of the Directors Guild of America (DGA), Johnson was brought on by director Destin Daniel Cretton to direct an episode of the first season of AMERICAN BORN CHINESE (Disney+), a genre-hopping action-comedy series. He also directed two episodes of the sixth season of the drama series, THE CHI (Paramount+ SHOWTIME) in Chicago, and returned to direct on the upcoming seventh season.
Johnson’s short films, shot 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), 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, Pitzer College, and Columbia University. Johnson has also been invited to serve as a jury member at festivals such as AFI FEST and Jia Zhangke’s Pingyao International Film Festival.
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), Kyoto Filmmakers Lab, and Film at Lincoln Center’s NYFF Artist Academy. He was also 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 in NYC, 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.
