Sae Yong Lee is an award-winning independent filmmaker, screenwriter and director based in Los Angeles. He is available to work in California or worldwide on commercial, TV or corporate film projects. Trained in the field of contemporary art, his works include short film, documentary, commercial videos, as well as sound and video installations. He has previously worked as an assistant film director, editor, sound designer, sound mixer in numerous film projects, and he has assisted renowned directors Christopher Coppola and Rob Nilsson. He has received the George Kuchar Award at the San Francisco Art Institute for the best filmmaker of the year, and his projects have received the Jury Special Mention at the Film-Ed: International Short Film Festival in Dubai, and were officially selected at the Film Festival in San Francisco Art Institute and the Carcosa International Film Festival.  

He graduated with a B.A. in Film, Television and Interactive Media from Brandeis University, and he holds an M.F.A. from the San Francisco Art Institute, where he hosted both group and solo exhibitions and taught undergraduate and graduate courses on film production as a teaching assistant. In 2016, he launched his narrative film project “Rankle”, and in 2018 he directed an experimental short “Searching for Happiness”. Dedicating his life and career to interdisciplinary practices within film production and contemporary art, Lee continues his work in both media.

As a filmmaker, he uses visual metaphors to explore the intersection of social, cultural, political, and personal anxieties. His work has been described as poignant, visceral, profound and inspirational. Lee understands film as visual poetry that imagines sites of controversy, conflict, and compromise in the public sphere. By creating work that examines dilemmas, taboos, fears, and thirsts that are uniquely human, Lee seeks to highlight that which unites us as human beings. 

For any inquiries, please contact him directly at lsaeyong@gmail.com. To view Lee’s awards, exhibition and screening records, please click on vita in the menu above.