We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Johnny K. Wu. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Johnny K. below.
Johnny K., thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?
Me and 6 others found out last year that the film festival is going to be retired, it is one of the best indie level film festival in our city and we thought we should continue the legacy. This year is the 2024 year and it will be June 20-23 and we felt this would be a great way to give independent filmmakers a venue for horror, sci-fi, action, thriller/suspense and fantasy films
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Johnny K. Wu is a Cleveland-based filmmaker, producer, director, and editor with over 34 years of experience in the industry. Here are some key details about him:
– He is a native of Cleveland, Ohio, born on June 8, 1967, and was raised in Central America.[1][3][4]
– He is fluent in Chinese, Spanish, and English.[1][2]
– He earned an MBA from Cleveland State University with a specialization in marketing and branding.[1][2]
– He is a veteran award-winning producer, director, and editor, having worked on over 14 feature films that have been distributed worldwide since 2005.[1][2][3]
– Some of his notable films include “Immortal Combat: The Code” (2019), “Innerself” (2018), and the upcoming “Bullets, Brothers and Blood” (2024).[3][5]
– He founded the monthly Cleveland IndieClub in 2003 to showcase local filmmakers’ work, which became a national movement.[1][2]
– He co-founded the Cleveland Asian Festival and has produced the One World Day event in the Cleveland Cultural Gardens since 2015.[1][2]
– He is actively involved in the Asian Pacific American community in Ohio and serves on several boards and councils.[1][2]
– He has been inducted into the International Indie Filmmakers Hall of Fame and two Martial Arts Halls of Fame.[1][2]
So in summary, Johnny K. Wu is a prolific and accomplished Cleveland-based independent filmmaker with a strong connection to the local community and Asian American culture.[1][2][3][4][5]
Citations:
[1] https://horrorhotelfilmfest.com/johnny-k-wu/
[2] https://clevelandinternationalhalloffame.com/inductees/johnny-k-wu/
[3] https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0943116/
[4] https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0943116/bio/
[5] https://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/2024/02/cleveland-filmmaker-johnny-wu-to-host-premiere-of-his-new-indie-action-movie-bullets-brothers-and-blood.html
What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?
as an artist it is already a difficult path with very low success rate to earn a living, as an indie filmmaker, it is much harder, a lot of time, sweat and money put into a project that ultimately not going to see much result during distribution. The society must understand that and help as much as possible, provide locations, catering, donations or even just watch the films that are finally out. The film festival is a great place for filmmaker to showcase their film work and everyone should go out and support it, the year’s 13th annual is the biggest, June 20-23 at Crowne Plaza Hotel Airport here in Cleveland, Ohio.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
Our goal is to have a great indie level film festival to bring fun and excitement as well as networking opportunity. Our mission is to help each filmmaker grow so they have all the resources.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://horrorhotelfilmfest.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/horrorhotelfilmfest/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/horrorhotelfilmfestival
- Twitter: https://x.com/horrorhotelfest
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6AFy88ic1YlOLUWPsB_jkQ
