IRON HANDS
Directed by Johnson Cheng
SHORTS PROGRAM 2
SATURDAY 11/16/2019
12:30pm
@ Made In NY Media Center by IFP
As a 12-year-old girl prepares for her final test trying out for the traditionally all-boys Chinese youth Olympic weightlifting team, she makes an unlikely connection with the gym's reclusive groundskeeper.
FILMMAKER
Johnson Cheng is an award-winning Chinese American writer/director hailing from the San Gabriel Valley of Los Angeles County. After receiving his B.A. inInternational Relations, he joined Columbia University’s M.F.A. FilmDirecting/Screenwriting program.His films have screened at over 100international film festivals, including Tribeca, TIFF Kids, Reykjavík (Golden EggSelection), Nashville, Florida, Cinequest, Uppsala, Giffoni, Short Shorts Tokyo, and Palm Springs (Best Student Film Award). His narrative short film, "IronHands", had its world premiere at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival and itsCanadian premiere at the 2018 TIFF Kids International Film Festival.
Johnson is a recipient of the prestigious Princess Grace Award (Cary Grant FilmAward) and theAT&T InspirASIAN Student Film Award. He is an alumnus of theNew York Film Festival Artist Academy, Telluride Film Festival StudentSymposium, Reykjavík Transatlantic Talent Lab, and Visual Communications’Armed With a Camera Fellowship. Johnson is a member of the Motion PictureEditors Guild. Most recently, Johnson shadowed TV director Adam Bernstein onFX’s upcoming limited series, “Fosse/Verdon” and directed the narrative short film, "Lonely Blue Night" starring Diana Lin (co-star of "The Farewell") asa 2019Film Independent Project Involve Writer/Director Fellow.