Johnson Cheng’s films have screened at international film festivals such as 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 on 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 (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 is an alumnus of the 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 Television Academy. Johnson is repped by WME.
