Benson Lee (born November 3, 1969) is an American filmmaker who has worked in drama, documentary, and commercial production for over twenty years.

Education

Lee attended or graduated from the

University of Hawaii A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

and the

Fashion Institute of Technology The Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) is a public college under the State University of New York, in New York City. It focuses on art, business, design, mass communication, and technology connected to the fashion industry. It was founded in ...

Career

Documentaries

His first documentary, '' Planet B-Boy'', was one of the top-grossing theatrical documentaries of 2008 in the US. His work has aired on

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

, the Sundance Channel, and has been theatrically distributed to over 30 countries worldwide.

Narrative films

In 1998, with his first feature film ''Miss Monday'', Lee became the first Korean-American filmmaker to be accepted to the Dramatic Competition of the

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...

where his film was awarded a Special Grand Jury Prize for Best Actor. In 2011, Lee directed the 3D Hollywood adaptation of ''Planet B-Boy'' titled ''

Battle of the Year Battle of the Year, commonly referred to as BOTY, is an annual international breakdancing competition that began in 1990. It has been regarded as the premier b-boying competition in the world and has been referred to as the "World Cup of B-Boying ...

'' for

Sony Pictures Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio conglomerate that produces, acquires, and distributes filmed entertainment (theatrical motion pictures, television programs, and rec ...

Screen Gems Screen Gems is an American film production company owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Japanese conglomerate, Sony Group Corporation. ''Screen Gems'' has served several different purposes for its parent companies over the de ...

, which stars

Josh Holloway Joshua Lee Holloway (born July 20, 1969) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as James "Sawyer" Ford on the ABC television show '' Lost'' (2004–2010) as Will Bowman on the USA Network science fiction drama ''Colony'' (2016� ...

, Laz Alonso, and

Chris Brown Christopher Maurice Brown (born May 5, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. A Pop music, pop and hip-hop-influenced contemporary R&B, R&B musician who works in a variety of genres, he has been called the "Honorific nic ...

. The film was released September 20, 2013. In 2015, Lee completed the film ''

Seoul Searching ''Seoul Searching'' is a 2016 American comedy-drama set in Seoul, Korea written and directed by Benson Lee and starring Justin Chon, Jessika Van, Cha In-pyo and Teo Yoo. Premise Seoul, 1986. A raucous gaggle of foreign born Korean teenagers ...

'', an 80s Teen Comedy about a group of diverse Korean high school teens from around the globe, coming together in 1986 to experience the most important summer of their lives. They meet at a special summer camp in Seoul where they were sent by their parents to learn what it means to be Korean; a side to them they know little about. Although the intentions of the camp were honorable, the activities of the teens were not. The film made its premiere as an official selection of the 2015

, and also stars

Justin Chon Justin Jitae Chon (born May 29, 1981) is a South Korean-American actor and filmmaker. He has directed three films, Gook (film), ''Gook'' (2017), ''Ms. Purple'' (2019), and ''Blue Bayou (film), Blue Bayou'' (2021). He is also known for portrayin ...

and Jessika Van. Lee is currently directing the first studio music drama set in the world of K-pop for Paramount Studios, titled "K-pop Superstar." He also wrote his first horror project, "The Yellow Hornet," which he will direct and produce in 2025. Lee is repped by the Verve agency.

Filmography

''Miss Monday'' (1998)''Black Picket Fence'' (2002)
*'' Planet B-Boy'' (2007) *''

'' (2013) *''

'' (201
''Waikiki the Movie'' (2020)''Untitled K-pop Project at Paramount'' (2024)

References

External links

The Top 50 Asian American Directors in the U.S.
*
Josh Holloway, Laz Alonso and Chris Brown Lead 'Planet B Boy' CastVariety 'Planet B-Boy' ReviewPlanet B-Boy Rottentomatoes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Benson 1969 births Living people American film directors of Korean descent American male screenwriters American film producers Screenwriters from California