Wendy J.N. Lee [she/her] is a writer/director and Emmy-nominated producer with over 30 awards.

Jaded by the film industry as a kid growing up in LA, Lee came into filmmaking to outwit and ridicule douchebags for pleasure. Of course, underlying this is her lifelong wish to tell stories about unexpected heroes, kindness, and badassery.

She recently directed an episode of the upcoming Hulu & Spotify documentary series, “Rap Caviar Presents,” (featuring City Girls & Megan Thee Stallion) premiering March 30, 2023, and was Supervising Producer on the Sports Emmy-nominated series, “Defying Gravity” (YouTubeOriginals / All3), which won a Producers Guild Association Award in 2021. Lee also produced on the Critics Choice Award-winning “Trials by Media” (Netflix / E.P. George Clooney), “Street Food” (Netflix), “Full Bleed” (Adobe / Anonymous Content), and edited on series for Peacock and PBS.

Lee directed & produced the environmental feature film, “PAD YATRA: A Green Odyssey” with Executive Producer Michelle Yeoh, winning 12 festival awards. She is currently directing a feature (Macro Studios) about the real life “Kung Fu Nuns” in the Himalayas, where she lived for several years. In 2016, Lee authored a book about the Indian Himalayas (“Forever Ladakh,” pub. Roli Books) and speaks & consults on the importance of the region. Past engagements include the US State Department, the United Nations, Oxford, Yale, Vassar, and Columbia University.

Outside of documentary, Lee directed the music video for “Ilegal En Style” [musician: Pilar Diaz], which aired on MTV and was hailed as a femme punk anthem for immigration rights. She also wrote & directed the short “Three Times Me,” sponsored by Vanity Fair and distributed by Spotlight Cinema in 100 theaters across the US after playing in 40+ festivals. Her queer adventure feature script, “The MisKids” (2018) was a placing winner in 4 festivals, and other works and branded content have been distributed by Fox Searchlight, Coca-Cola, Cisco Systems, and more.

A former writer/director fellow of Film Independent’s talent lab Project:Involve, Lee studied philosophy at Boston College and has an MFA in Production from USC School of Cinematic Arts, where she is currently an Adjunct Professor teaching documentary, ethics, and workshops to support diversity and inclusion. You can see her featured in the Netflix documentary, “Feminists: What Were They Thinking?” as well as in an obscure CNN news segment on how “old people” should do parkour for better balance. When she signed the release form at her parkour studio, she was not aware of the intent of the segment and boasted to her friends about being featured for her athletic prowess.

Lee enjoys performing comedy, knitting, drag shows, and video games.