Christian Lee is a 43rd Annual Telly Award® winning photographer and filmmaker currently pursuing a BA in the School of the Arts & Architecture at UCLA. His work has appeared in TIME Magazine, The New York Times, Vogue, the Los Angeles Times, the World Photography Organization, and elsewhere. Lee’s visual narratives received international recognition from over 50 competitions and publications, including the Sony World Photography Awards, YoungArts, Fujifilm, and the National Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. He is a Class of XXXVII alumnus of Canon’s Eddie Adams Workshop, an Up Next Photographer at Diversify Photo, and a Member of Film Independent and AAJA whose moving and still images explore themes of cultural assimilation, domesticity, and intergenerational trauma within immigrant communities. Lee is available for commission worldwide.
(657) 252-0252 | christianalee003@gmail.com | instagram.com/christianmakesfilms/
Click HERE for an expanded CV in downloadable pdf format.
Education
University of California, Los Angeles, B.A. (Expected 2026)
Select Awards & Recognition
TIME Magazine Global Photographic Portraiture Competition, Winner (2024)
The New York Times Coming of Age Contest, Winner (2020)
Sony World Photography Awards, Shortlist (2022)
Canon’s Eddie Adams Workshop, Class of XXXVII (2024)
National YoungArts Competition, Winner in Photography (2022)
43rd Annual Telly Awards, Bronze Prize for Outstanding Student Film (2022)
Diversify Photo, Up Next Photographer (2024)
National Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, Silver Medalist (2022)
American Youth Film Festival, Jackie Award (2022)
Martin Luther King Jr. Film Festival, Best Impact Film (2020)
Princeton University, Collegiate Filmmakers Showcase, Best Student Film Nominee (2024)
All American High School Film Festival, Nominee (2020)
National YoungArts Foundation, Creative Grant (2024)
Mometu College Shorts Film Festival, Best Foreign Language Film Nominee (2024)
23rd Annual National High School Poetry Contest, Winner
Regional Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, Winner of 6 Gold Keys, 2 Silver Keys, 5 Honorable Mentions (2021-22)
40th Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival, Nextwave Youth Competition Finalist
Fearless, Youth Initiative Film Festival, Best Photography Prize (2021)
20th Annual Drexel University High Photography Contest, National Finalist
Philadelphia Youth Film Festival, Special Jury Prizes in Screenwriting & Film (2021)
Revolution Me Film Festival, Screenwriting Prize & Social Awareness Award (2021-2022)
Our Voices Film Festival, Best PSA Finalist (2020)
60 Second Film Festival, Best Short Finalist (2020)
Documentary Family Awards, Finalist in Photography (2021)
ESMoA Video + Art Film Festival, Semi-Finalist (2020)
Newark IFF Youth Film Festival, Semi-Finalist (2018)
Select Publications & Press
“See the Winning Photographs From TIME and ASMP’s Global Portraiture Competition,” TIME Magazine
“Coming of Age: Teens on a Year That Changed Everything,” Special Print Section, The New York Times
Available for Purchase on The New York Times Store
“Coming of Age in 2020: Teenagers on the Year That Changed Everything” W.W. Norton & Company
Available for Purchase on Amazon.com
“Teens on a Year That Changed Everything” The New York Times, The Learning Network
“The Documentary and Art Photography of Christian Lee” Vogue Italia, PhotoVogue
“Anthology and Catalogue: Select Works by YoungArts Winners” National YoungArts Foundation
“Rising Stars: Meet Christian Lee” LA’s Most Inspiring Stories, VoyageLA Magazine
“The Black and White Imagery of Artist Christian Lee” The Adroit Journal, Volume 40
“‘Til the Day Breaks: An Original Photo Series” Counterclock Journal, Issue 12
“Celebrating Simplicity: Finding Beauty in the Commonplace” Los Angeles Times, High School Insider
“Introducing Christian Lee” Young Photographers International Collective
Select Group Exhibitions
“The Care & Repair Project” UC Irvine School of Humanities, Irvine, California (2024)
“Innovate24: The Black Innovation Summit” Center for Digital Transformation, Irvine, California (2024)
“Kaleidoscope” Catalyst Undergraduate Art Gallery, Claire Trevor School of the Arts, Irvine, California (2023)
“Shutter Hub’s Postcards from Europe” Alison Richards Building, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom (2022)
”Reel Exposure International Juried Teen Photo Exhibition” Trolley Barn Art Gallery, Poughkeepsie, New York (2022)
“20th Annual Drexel University High School Photography Contest” Antoinette Westphal College, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (2020)
Solo Exhibitions
“The Come & See Project: A Year in Photos” ARC Gallery, La Habra, California (2022)
Select Screenings
Golden State Film Festival, TCL Chinese Theatre, Hollywood, California (2022)
All American High School Film Festival, AMC Empire Theatre, Times Square, New York City (2021) *two projects*
Princeton Film Festival, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey (2024)
Adelaide Film Festival, Variety Magazine’s ‘Unmissable Festival,’ Palace Nova Eastend Cinemas, Adelaide, Australia (2021)
Central Film Festival, The Moxie Theater, Springfield, Missouri (2021) *two projects*
Emerging Lens Cultural Film Festival, Canadian Academy Awards Qualification, Canadian Museum of Immigration (2021)
Scout Film Festival, ICA Seaport Studio, Boston, Massachusetts (2022)
Kidz Hub Regional Film Festival, Old Bridge, New Jersey (2018)
Brooklyn Shorty Film Festival, John D. McFadden, Sr. Young Filmmakers Competition, Virtual Screening (2020)
Huntington Beach Cultural Cinema Showcase, Virtual Premiere (2020)
Flicks Documentary Film Night, USVA Cultural Center, Groningen, Netherlands (2021)
Lift-Off Global Network & First Time Filmmaker Sessions, Pinewood Studios, Iver, United Kingdom (2019-20) *four projects*
Newark International Youth Film Festival, Supported by Panasonic, Newark, New Jersey (2018-20) *eight projects*
Professional Memberships
Diversify Photo, Up Next Photographer
Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA), Member
Film Independent, Member & Merit Scholarship Recipient
Scholastic Art & Writing Awards Alumni Association, Member
PwC US Alumni, Member
Lee’s favorite photographers and his earliest artistic influences include Dawoud Bey, Mark Steinmetz, RaMell Ross, Bryan Schutmaat, An-My Lê, Deana Lawson, Raymond Meeks, LaToya Ruby Frazier, Stacey Kranitz, Tommy Kha, Curren Hattleberg, Alec Soth, and Kristen Joy Emack.