Min Sook Lee

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Min Sook Lee (born 1969) is a Canadian documentary filmmaker, screenwriter and political activist. As of September 2019, she is a candidate for Toronto—Danforth in upcoming federal election.[1] She was nominated as the New Democratic Party candidate in Toronto – Danforth running primarily on concerns about  climate change, energy, economic equity, a national pharmacare program, child care programs, improved public transit systems, and the protection and expansion of affordable housing.[2]

Biography

Lee was born in South Korea and immigrated to Canada with her family at the age of three,[3][non-primary source needed] growing up in Downtown Toronto where her family owned a convenience store.[4] Lee and her sisters worked long hours behind the counters, often translating for their parents, who did not speak English.[5][4]

As a teenager, Lee joined the anti-apartheid movement in Toronto, which she credits with introducing her to political activism.[5]

Career

Film

Lee is a self-taught documentary filmmaker who has directed eight feature documentaries, often focusing on labour, migration, and social justice issues.[6][7]

Early in her career, Lee was news director at community radio station CKLN-FM from 1996 to 1998, and a news reporter at television station Toronto 1 from 2004 to 2005.[8][non-primary source needed]

Lee's first feature film El Contrato (2003) showed migrant farm workers from Central Mexico facing harsh working conditions in Leamington, Ontario. In response, Leamington farmers issued a SLAPP suit which delayed the film's release by a year.[9] Lee was awarded the Cesar E. Chavez Black Eagle Award for the film.[10]

Lee's 2005 film Hogtown: The Politics of Policing followed a dysfunctional City Hall struggle over the Toronto Police Service's budget during a wave of violent gun crimes and police corruption scandals.[11] The film won the Best Feature-length Canadian Documentary award at the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival.[12]

Lee also directed Tiger Spirit (2008), telling the story of Korean families divided by the Korean War and the border between North Korea and South Korea; My Toxic Baby (2009), about toxins in baby products; The Real MASH (2010), which tells the story of the real people who inspired the movie and television series, M*A*S*H; Badge of Pride (2010) about LGBT police officers; and The Real Inglorious Bastards (2012), about Frederick Mayer and his company of European Jewish refugees. Lee was co-creator of the television sitcom She's the Mayor, which aired on VisionTV.[13][14] Tiger Spirit was awarded the Donald Brittain Award for Best Social/Political Documentary at the 2009 Gemini Awards.[citation needed] Her film, The Real Inglorious Bastards, won the 2014 Canadian Screen Award for Best History or Biography Documentary Program or Series.[15]

In 2016, Lee revisited the theme of migrant workers in Canada in her film Migrant Dreams, which examined the plight of a group of mostly Indonesian migrant workers entering Canada through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program.[16][10][non-primary source needed] She was awarded the Canadian Hillman Prize which honours journalists whose work identifies important social and economic issues in Canada[1] and the Canadian Association of Journalists Award for Labour Reporting.[3]

In 2012, the Mayworks Festival of Working People and the Arts named the Min Sook Lee Labour Arts Award in Lee's honour for her contribution to the cause of migrant workers,[15] citing her work to "engage non-arts audiences, and that challenges Eurocentric notions of art".[17][18]

Lee is an associate professor at the Ontario College of Art and Design, where her teaching and research focus on the relationship between art and social change.[1] She previously taught documentary filmmaking at Ryerson University's School of Image Arts MFA program.[15][19]

Politics

As of September 2019, Lee is the New Democratic Party candidate in Toronto-Danforth for the upcoming 2019 federal election.[5][3] In her campaign, she has committed to bring in a 1% super-wealth tax on households with a net wealth of more than $20 million. The Parliamentary Budget Office has estimated that this measure could bring in $70 billion in new revenue.[20][non-primary source needed] On election night, Lee finished in 2nd with 33.2% of the vote to incumbent Liberal MP Julie Dabrusin.[21]

Awards and honours

  • 2005 Winner of Best Canadian Feature Length Documentary Award, Hot Docs Festival for Hogtown: the Politics of Policing
  • 2007 Recipient of the Cesar E. Chavez Black Eagle Award, presented by the United Farm Workers of America
  • 2009 Winner of the Donald Brittain Award for Best Social/Political Documentary Program for Tiger Spirit
  • 2012 Induction of the ‘Min Sook Lee Labour Arts Award’ presented by Mayworks Festival of Working People and the Arts
  • 2014 Winner, Canadian Screen Award – Best History Documentary for The Real Inglorious Bastards
  • 2016 Cinema Politica Alanis Obomsawin Award for Commitment to Community and Resistance
  • 2017 Canadian Association of Journalists Award for Labour Reporting for Migrant Dreams
  • 2017 Canadian Hillman Prize for Journalism for Migrant Dreams

Filmography

Year Title Project Notes
2001-2002 Profiles 12-part TV documentary series Senior producer (3 episodes), director (3 episodes), field producer (1 episode)
2003 El Contrato Documentary Director, writer
2005 Hogtown: The Politics of Policing Documentary Producer, director, writer
2008 Tiger Spirit Documentary Producer, director, writer
2010 Badge of Pride Documentary Director, writer
2010 The Real M*A*S*H TV documentary Director, writer
2011 She's the Mayor Television sitcom series Co-creator, executive producer (12 episodes), writer (1 episode)
2012 The Real Inglorious Bastards TV documentary Director, writer
2016 Migrant Dreams Documentary Producer, director, writer

References

  1. ^ a b c "Min Sook Lee". Ontario College of Art and Design. 2017-04-15. Retrieved 2019-09-24.
  2. ^ "Min Sook Lee to run for NDP in Toronto-Danforth in upcoming federal election". Beach Metro Community News. 2019-06-11. Retrieved 2019-09-23.
  3. ^ a b c "About Min Sook Lee". voteminsook.ca. Retrieved 2019-09-24.
  4. ^ a b Jetelina, Margaret (February 9, 2017). "Immigrant Women of Inspiration 2017: the creative journeys of five female artists". Canadian Immigrant. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
  5. ^ a b c Shackleton, Alan (11 June 2019). "Min Sook Lee to run for NDP in Toronto-Danforth in upcoming federal election". Beach Metro Community News.
  6. ^ "Min Sook Lee Wins CP's 2016 Alanis Obomsawin Award". Cinema Politica. 3 October 2016. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  7. ^ Jacobs, Jonas (May 1, 2016). "POV Profile: Min Sook Lee – Point of View Magazine". Point of View.
  8. ^ Min Sook Lee on LinkedIn
  9. ^ Russo, Madelaine (21 October 2016). "Min Sook Lee and Lisa Valencia-Svensson on the Exploitation of Foreign Workers and the Need for Diverse Perspectives in Doc Filmmaking". HotDocs.ca.
  10. ^ a b "Min Sook Lee". Cinema Politica. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  11. ^ "Hogtown: The Politics of Policing". HotDocs.ca. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  12. ^ Hogtown: The Politics of Policing at IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  13. ^ "She's the Mayor Website". Retrieved 2011-09-18.
  14. ^ "She's the Mayor finds laughs in Hamilton". Hamilton Spectator. April 16, 2010. Archived from the original on August 26, 2012. Retrieved May 12, 2019.
  15. ^ a b c "Min Sook Lee". Canadian Film Centre. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  16. ^ McLaughlin, Janet. "How Migrant Dreams reveals the dark side of Canada's Temporary Foreign Worker Program". TVO. TVOntario.
  17. ^ "2019 Mayworks Labour Arts Awards Call for Nominations". Mayworks. Archived from the original on 16 July 2019.
  18. ^ Manek, Haseena (10 December 2012). "Mayworks Festival of Working People and the Arts: Recognition where it is overdue". Story Board. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  19. ^ "FCADers Nominated for Canadian Screen Awards". Ryerson University. 21 January 2014. Archived from the original on 16 July 2019.
  20. ^ "Min Sook Lee For Toronto—Danforth". Canada's NDP. Retrieved 2019-09-23.
  21. ^ Canada, Elections. "Election Night Results - Electoral Districts". enr.elections.ca. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
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