David W. Johnson Champions Underrepresented Voices with a Narrative Driven Sports Video for the Chicago Blackhawks

Photographer and Director David W. Johnson’s work often centers people and communities whose experiences are less commonly positioned at the center of commercial narratives. Through portraiture, lifestyle or documentary style, his approach is always rooted in listening first and then allowing the story to develop from the lived experience of the people he’s capturing. 

His recent collaboration with the Chicago Blackhawks, created with his organization True Chicago, is in honor of the team’s 100th anniversary, working to grow the game of hockey in new and meaningful ways. David and his collaborators wanted to be sure this meant looking beyond the traditional image of youth hockey, ushering in a new century. The goal was to reflect the diversity of Chicago itself.

David, his co-director Jessica Tolliver and DP Kin Marie, filmed a short narrative film that focuses on 10-year-old Ceyani from Chicago’s Little Village Neighborhood, who, through a community after-school program supported by the Blackhawks, has discovered hockey. The film became part of a social campaign called, “I Can Do This”, design to expand the rhetoric around who belongs in the sport. With Ceyani at the center, the team follows her through a day between home, family and the ice.

How did this project with the Chicago Blackhawks start?

For the past few years my creative collective, True Chicago, has been working with the Blackhawks to help tell community stories. When their hundredth anniversary came around, they wanted to highlight how they’re helping grow the game of hockey across the city.

They run youth programs that introduce kids to skating and hockey, often in neighborhoods that don’t traditionally have access to the sport. One of those programs is in Little Village, which is a predominantly Mexican neighborhood here in Chicago. Through that program we met Ani, who was really thriving in the after-school hockey league.

Her mom actually became one of the coaches, and Ani just fell in love with the game. That stood out because in Chicago, if you go to most hockey facilities, you’re still going to see a lot of kids from more affluent backgrounds. It’s an expensive sport. So the opportunity to tell a story about a young Latina girl discovering hockey felt really important.

What story did you want to tell through the film?

We wanted to create something that felt narrative-driven, rather than a traditional interview or documentary piece.

The idea was to follow Ceyani through a day in her life and let the audience experience the world around her. Instead of framing it like a promotional piece about a program, we wanted to position her as the hero of the story.

It was important that it didn’t feel like a fundraising video or a message about an organization saving kids. The Blackhawks created the space, but Ceyani is the one bringing her passion and talent to it. The film really tries to honor that.

How did you incorporate Ceyani’s culture and environment into the storytelling?

We wanted the film to feel rooted in her world. So we spent time in her home, in her room, with her brothers and sisters. You hear Spanish spoken in the film. You see the rhythms of her family life.

That was intentional because when do you hear Spanish and hockey in the same piece? It’s not something you typically see. But that’s what Chicago actually looks like.

So while we wanted the film to still honor the tradition of hockey and the legacy of the Blackhawks, it was just as important that Ani’s Mexican culture and community were present in the story.

What role did collaboration play in bringing the project to life?

A big part of the process for me was working alongside other filmmakers and creatives from the True Chicago community, as well as people who represent different communities across the city.

I served as a co-director and producer, but it was important that the project felt collaborative and reflective of the people it represents. The goal wasn’t really to put myself at the forefront, but to create space for a story that shows another side of what hockey can look like.

What do you hope people take away from the film?

The goal was to expand the image of who belongs in hockey.

When you see Ceyani out on the ice, you realize the game is bigger than the stereotypes around it. There are kids across the city who just need the opportunity and the space to explore something they love.

If the film helps people imagine hockey differently, or helps a young person see themselves reflected in the sport, then it’s doing exactly what we hoped it would do.