Johnson Cheng’s films have been selected to screen at international film festivals such as Locarno, Toronto, Tribeca, Slamdance, and AFI FEST, where his short films won the Audience Awards in 2020 and 2021. As a DGA television director, Johnson directed on the first season of AMERICAN BORN CHINESE (Disney+), a genre-hopping action-comedy series, and went on to direct multiple episodes of the Chicago-set drama THE CHI (Paramount+ SHOWTIME), most recently returning to direct on the seventh season.
Johnson’s short films, shot in China, Japan, and his hometown of the SGV (L.A.), include ONLY THE MOON STANDS STILL (Locarno, Tribeca, AFI FEST), LONELY BLUE NIGHT (AFI FEST, HBO APA Visionaries), and IRON HANDS (Toronto, Tribeca). He is in post on A STORY OF DIVINE WIND, a jidaigeki film shot at Shochiku Studio in Kyoto.
Johnson has been selected for labs and fellowships such as the Locarno Filmmakers Academy, Film at Lincoln Center NYFF Artists Academy, Film Independent Project Involve, Indeed Rising Voices, and the DGA DDI Mentorship Program. He is a recipient of the Princess Grace Award (Cary Grant Film Award), the HBO APA Visionaries Award, and was invited to serve as a jury member for AFI FEST in 2022. As a lecturer, Johnson has taught at Pomona College, Harvey Mudd College, Pitzer College, and Columbia University.
Johnson holds an M.F.A. in Film Directing/Screenwriting from Columbia University's Graduate Film Program, where his thesis film won the CUFF Best Film Award. He is a member of the Directors Guild of America (DGA) and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). Johnson is repped by WME.
