Benson Lee | |
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| Born | November 3, 1969 |
| Nationality | Korean American |
| Occupation(s) | Producer, director, screenwriter |
Benson Lee (born November 3, 1969) is a Korean American filmmaker who has worked in drama, documentary, and commercial production for over twenty years.
Lee attended or graduated from the University of Hawaii, New York University and the Fashion Institute of Technology.
His first documentary, Planet B-Boy , was one of the top-grossing theatrical documentaries of 2008 in the US. [1] His work has aired on HBO, MTV, the Sundance Channel, and has been theatrically distributed to over 30 countries worldwide.
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 where his film was awarded a Special Grand Jury Prize for Best Actor. [2]
In 2011, Lee directed the 3D Hollywood adaptation of Planet B-Boy titled Battle of the Year for Sony Pictures / Screen Gems, which stars Josh Holloway, Laz Alonso, and Chris Brown. The film was released September 20, 2013.
In 2015, Lee completed the film Seoul Searching , 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 Sundance Film Festival, and also stars Justin Chon and Jessika Van. [3]
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.
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". Regional qualifying tournaments, also known as preliminaries, are held worldwide culminating in the BOTY International, the world finals event which is currently held at Sud de France Arena in Montpellier, France.
Breakdancing, also called b-boying, b-girling or breaking, is a style of street dance developed by African American and Puerto Rican communities in The Bronx, New York City, United States.
Force Theory was a musical production team and performance art band from Fort Greene, Brooklyn.
Last For One is a b-boy crew that formed in 1997. With their win in the 2005 Battle of the Year (BOTY), they have been recognized worldwide and as a contributor to the Korean Wave. Their fans call them the "Dancing Taeguk Warriors". They were heavily featured in the film Planet B-Boy, which documents the 2005 BOTY. While most of the members were poor and some lived in extreme poverty in the southern part of South Korea, they had traveled to the capital of Seoul to compete in the BOTY. B-boy Joe currently heads the main wing while B-boy Lee (Jusung) and B-girl Zinny are regional members and compete in U.S. or international based events.
Indiewood films are made outside of the Hollywood studio system or traditional arthouse/independent filmmaking system yet managed to be produced, financed and distributed by the two with varying degrees of success and/or failure.
Planet B-Boy is a 2007 documentary film that focuses on the 2005 Battle of the Year while also describing B-boy culture and history as a global phenomenon. This documentary was directed by Canadian-American Korean filmmaker Benson Lee, shot by Portuguese-American filmmaker Vasco Nunes, and released in theaters in the United States on March 21, 2008. It was released on DVD on November 11, 2008.
Justin Jitae Chon is an American actor and filmmaker. He has directed three films, Gook (2017), Ms. Purple (2019), and Blue Bayou (2021). He is also known for portraying Eric Yorkie in The Twilight Saga film series. He is a member of the K-pop parody group Boys Generally Asian.
Old Partner is a 2008 South Korean documentary film directed by Lee Chung-ryoul. Set in the small rural town of Hanul-ri in Sangun-myeon, Bonghwa County, North Gyeongsang Province, the film focuses on the relationship between a 40-year-old cow and an old farmer in his 80s.
Cha In-pyo is a South Korean actor and director.
Adam Bhala Lough is an American film director, screenwriter, and documentary filmmaker from Fairfax, Virginia. Known for his dramas about subcultures and popular youth cultures, several of Lough's films have been selected as part of the Sundance Film Festival, and is the only filmmaker with a feature film and a documentary in the festival, as well as a screenplay selected for the annual Sundance Screenwriter's Lab.
Caitlin Marie Lotz is an American actress, dancer and singer. She has portrayed Stephanie Horton in the AMC series Mad Men, Officer Kirsten Landry in the MTV mockumentary series Death Valley (2011), Annie in The Pact (2013), and Sara Lance/The Canary/White Canary in The CW's Arrowverse television franchise.
Seoul Searching is a 2016 South Korean comedy-drama film written and directed by Benson Lee and starring Justin Chon, Jessika Van, Cha In-pyo and Teo Yoo.
Battle of the Year is a 2013 American 3D dance film directed by Benson Lee. The film was released on September 20, 2013 through Screen Gems and stars Josh Holloway, Chris Brown, Laz Alonso, Caity Lotz, and Josh Peck.
The K-POP World Festival is an annual K-pop talent competition organized by South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs with the support of numerous government agencies. After going through a few preliminary rounds, fans of K-pop are invited by the South Korean government to take part in the final round of the competition held every year in Changwon, South Korea.
Christopher Leggett is an American producer of films, television, documentaries, music videos, and commercials. In 2013, Leggett joined as a partner at Delirio Films, a boutique film and commercial production company with a focus on prestige documentary, both features and series. Leggett began his producing career at NBC / Universal Sports. Among his most recent documentaries is Ask Dr. Ruth, about sex therapist and Holocaust survivor Dr. Ruth Westheimer, which was shown at the Sundance Film Festival in 2019.
SEOUL International Women's Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Seoul, South Korea. The first festival took place on April 1, 1997, which marked the second appearance of the international film festival in Korea following Busan International Film Festival launched in 1996. This was a time when there was not a clear idea on how to define a film festival. During this time, SEOUL International Women's Film Festival came up with the catchphrase "See The World Through Women's Eyes." This phrase set its main goal to introduce women's films that explore “women’s reality from the women’s perspectives.”
Whose Streets? is a 2017 American documentary film about the killing of Michael Brown and the Ferguson uprising. Directed by Sabaah Folayan and co-directed by Damon Davis, Whose Streets? premiered in competition at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival, then was released theatrically in August, 2017, for the anniversary of Brown's death. It was a nominee for Critics' Choice and Gotham Independent Film awards.
Searching is a 2018 American screenlife mystery thriller film directed by Aneesh Chaganty in his feature debut, written by Chaganty and Sev Ohanian and produced by Timur Bekmambetov. Set entirely on computer screens and smartphones, the film follows a father trying to find his missing 16-year-old daughter with the help of a police detective. This was the first mainstream Hollywood thriller headlined by an Asian-American actor.
Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street is a 2021 American documentary film directed by Marilyn Agrelo. Based on the non-fiction book Street Gang by Michael Davis, the film chronicles the development and airing of the children's television program Sesame Street, featuring interviews with series creators Joan Ganz Cooney and Lloyd Morrisett, as well as writers, actors, and artists involved in its creation.
The 2022 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 20 to 30, 2022. Due to COVID-19 pandemic protocol, it was initially intended to be an in-person/virtual hybrid festival, but on January 5, 2022, it was announced that the in-person components would be scrapped in favor of a wholly virtual festival due to the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant. The first lineup of competition films was announced on December 9, 2021.
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