ABOUT

Jean E. Lee is a first gen Korean American writer/director from Allentown, Pennsylvania who loves global cinema, genre, and stories that make her laugh. Jean has directed in 9 languages spanning 7 countries and 5 continents and earned her MFA at NYU Tisch, Asia. Along with being an alumnus of Ryan Murphy's HALF initiative, NBCU's Female Forward, and AFIDWW+, Jean has gone on to direct shows like NEW AMSTERDAM and THE ROOKIE: FEDS. Most recently, her Korean folk horror feature script, SUN-YO, was selected for The Blacklist’s CAPE List.

Prior to this, Jean’s absurdist comedy feature debut, PECADO ORIGINAL, was the first ever Paraguayan and American co-production and was picked up by HBO after an award winning festival circuit. Her sci fi action short STRONG (Cinequest, Flickers' Rhode Island) won awards at Sundance, Panavision, and Google, and recently got distribution on DUST. Her magical realism short film CAHAYA, shot in Jakarta, Indonesia, world premiered at Berlinale.

Jean graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, Phi Beta Kappa, Summa Cum Laude. She received her MFA from NYU Tisch Asia as a Jacob Javitz Fellow. She is a former concert pianist and a lifelong dumpling enthusiast!