Johnson Cheng’s films have screened 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 was brought on by Destin Daniel Cretton to direct on the first season of AMERICAN BORN CHINESE (Disney+), a genre-hopping action-comedy series. Johnson 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 the U.S., China, and Japan, include ONLY THE MOON STANDS STILL (Locarno, Tribeca, AFI FEST), LONELY BLUE NIGHT (AFI FEST, HBO APA Visionaries), IRON HANDS (Toronto, Tribeca), and A STORY OF DIVINE WIND (Beyond Fest). He was also part of the producing team for UNDER THE BURNING SUN (Slamdance Narrative Feature Audience Award) and JUNHEE AND MITSURU, a Japanese/Korean feature currently in post.
Johnson is an alumnus of 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 has been invited to serve as a jury member for festivals such as AFI FEST, Pingyao, and NYAFF.
As an educator, Johnson will join the Department of Cinematic Arts at California State University, Long Beach as a tenure-track Assistant Professor (Directing Track Head) in Fall 2026. He previously taught at Pomona College, Harvey Mudd College, Pitzer College, Columbia College Chicago, and his alma mater, 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.
