Cedric Christophorus is an LA-based Indonesian writer-director with experiences in narrative shorts, stage, and animation. He is a passionate diversity champion who thrives in collaborative environments fostering high-level storytelling, with a focus on exploring the intersections of religiosity, gender, and race.
He is currently working at one of the leading black-owned production companies in the United States, Ava DuVernay's ARRAY, as well as independently distributing social content and short films through @cinemainclusion, where he aims to champion quality films, highlight the underrepresented, and make filmmaking education accessible.
His narrative work has received nominations from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Michigan Chapter (for ‘To Him'), earned quarter-finalist and semi-finalist accolades in the Student World Impact Film Festival (for ‘To Him') and Student Los Angeles Film Awards (for ‘To Him'), as well as garnered international recognition from the Serbest International Film Awards (for ‘Slumber Party') and the Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture (for ‘Ruang Publik'). Other notable selections include the Central Michigan International Film Festival, Centrally Isolated Film Festival, Capital City Film Festival, Trinity Film Festival, and Yale Film Festival.
Cedric Christophorus on his Films and Works
As an international immigrant, there is often pressure to succeed and go beyond due to visa pressures and internal struggles. We have to go through the arduous process of applying for different types of visas just to stay and work in the States and to prove to ourselves constantly that we are worth it. It's definitely hard, but at the same time, we are given the push to go 200% on every project that we work on.
Two of the narrative films that I am most proud of are titled “Icing on Her Cake” and “To Him,” both of which I wrote and directed. “Icing on Her Cake” is currently in post-production and tells the story of a reserved Southeast Asian who tries to understand the life of her “American” housemate through their shared groceries, sticky notes, and voicemails. My collaborator, Victoria Gunawan, and I are really inspired to create stories that matter to both our Asian community back home and our Asian-American communities here in the States – it's a love letter that we hope bridge these different communities! We're really excited to share this film during our 2024 festival run and hope that it speaks to many people.
“To Him,” on the other hand, is the first queer love story that I wrote and directed. While the story itself is crafted in a way that makes it digestible to all people, it was monumental at the time because we premiered at a conservative Christian liberal arts college where I studied. We wanted to show people that queer narratives should be normalized and should thrive in these settings.
Aside from narrative work, I also directed and produced stage productions that garnered 3000+ live audiences back in early 2023 and 2020. I was given a chance to represent my country by creating a 7-minute stage production in a cross-cultural showcase event, supported by the Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia in Chicago. Representing Indonesia, we told a story through dance and light; each segment showcases Indonesian natural beauty, represented through the four elements of nature. These elements (water, air, earth, fire) are personified through Indonesian deities with other dancers as supporting elements. Check it out:
Click here to visit the official site of Cedric Christophorus
