Emory Chao Johnson is a filmmaker based on unceded Tongva land (Alhambra, CA) primarily working in hybrid cinema. Their films focus on looking deeply beyond expectations with a trans point of view. Their previous directorial effort, To Write from Memory (2023), premiered at Berlinale and was nominated for a TEDDY, the queer film award at Berlinale. It won Best International Short Film at Toronto Reel Asian Film Festival. F1-100 (2021), their previous short, screened at Hawai‘i International Film Festival, Filmfest Dresden, and won jury awards at Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival and CAAMFest.

Emory was a fellow on Sam Feder’s Disclosure and part of OutFest OutSet filmmakers program. Currently, Emory is directing a documentary short with Tadashi Nakamura (Third Act) producing. Emory holds an MFA in Film from the UCLA School of Theater, Film, and Television.

In addition to their creative practice, Emory has worked in support of diverse voices in front of and behind the camera as former staff at the Asian American Documentary Network and Visual Communications. Their oral history videography work with community partners inspired them to volunteer with API RISE, a non-profit dedicated to make freedom possible for Asian Americans, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander folks impacted by the carceral system. Emory is also contributing their talents to an open-access multimedia textbook on Asian American and Pacific Islander communities.