Producer & Writer
Recent Work
When the Sun Sets (Lakutshon' Ilanga)
Short film, 14 min.
Johannesburg, 1985. A young, black nurse living in apartheid South Africa must face her worst fears when she learns that her activist, younger brother may be in danger when he doesn't return after school. Inspired by actual events. Now streaming on HBO Max.
Winner of the 53rd NAACP Image Awards
Gold Winner in Student Academy Awards
Short-listed for 94th Academy Awards
Writer/Director: Phumi Morare
Producer: Christine Cho
Director of Photography: Sherry Yingying Qian
Editor: Mojtaba Mirshekari
Sound Designer: Andree Lin
Starring: Zikhona Bali, Aphiwe Mkefe, and Thembekile Mathe
Lost the Lead
TV Pilot, half-hour drama/comedy
After witnessing a violent swatting prank, a disgraced video game champion recruits a diverse group of nerds to take down his former corporate sponsor.
Writer/Director: Michael Hyon Johnson
Co-Producers: Amanda Dyer, Christine Cho
Director of Photography: Robert Chuck
VFX Supervisor: Jameson Mitchell
Editor: Miles Wilson
Starring: Tristan Turner, Jaimie Leung, Keenan Gibson, Celia Schilling, Anika Kokatay, Aubrey Postier, Bennett Pollack Reeber, and Landon Jacob Lee
Honhyeol
Short, 5 min.
A Korean mother reaches out to connect with her biracial son. Shot as part of the 2022 Film Lab's 72-Hour Shootout.
Winner of the 72-Hour Shootout Best Screenwriting Award
Winner of the 72-Hour Shootout Best Directing Award
Listed as a Top Ten Film in the 72-Hour Shootout
Writer/Director: Michael Hyon Johnson
Asst. Director: Stefanie Bielecki
Gaffer: Stephen Ho
Script Supervisor: Christine Cho
Editor: Miles Wilson
Sound Recorder/Mixer: Josh Atwell
Starring: Hannah Kwon and Christopher Pearson
About Me
I'm a Korean-American award-winning producer and writer based in Los Angeles, CA.
I received my Bachelor's in English from Kalamazoo College, and my MFA in Film and Television Producing from Chapman University.
A proponent for social activism and diverse representation, I'm interested in presenting multi-dimensional and layered POC characters that subvert expectations and reshape the way we relate to the human condition. The fact that yellow face was still permissible in the industry until quite recently is pretty indicative of where we can still go from here.
One of my latest projects brought me out to Johannesburg, South Africa, where I shot my thesis film to capstone my studies at Chapman University. The film won Gold in the 2021 Student Academy Awards, was short-listed for the 94th Academy Awards, and most recently won in the 53rd NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding short-form live action. It is now streaming on HBO Max.