May 23, 2023
How can we harness the power of story and narratives for good?
This week’s guest is Johnson Cheng, a Chinese American writer/director from the San Gabriel Valley of Los Angeles. A member of the Directors Guild of America (DGA), his films have screened in competition at international festivals such as Tribeca, AFI FEST, and Toronto. Johnson is a recipient of the HBO APA Visionaries Award, the Princess Grace Award (Cary Grant Film Award), and fellowships such as Film Independent’s Project Involve (Writer/Director Fellow). Johnson is also one of the directors chosen for the very first class of Indeed’s Rising Voices and “Only the Moon Stands Still’ is an incredibly moving film about the complexities of intergenerational families and work. It’s a slice-of-life tale of three generations of Chinese women confronting the realities of having to shut down their family’s ballroom dance studio and bid farewell to a life that has defined them for so long. This episode discusses tradition, community, work and the power of story to create opportunity for people.