THERE ARE NO WORDS
2025 (98 mins)
Director/Writer
Min Sook Lee turns the camera on herself in this searing documentary, searching for memories of her mother, Song Ji Lee, who died by suicide when Lee was just 12 years old.
"Silence and shame followed my mother’s suicide. I realized that if I didn’t make this film, a default narrative would take over that amounted to a permanent death of who she was and could have been. I used this documentary to give life back to both of us."
Confrontational and speculative, There Are No Words contemplates how trauma fractures memory as Lee revisits the people and places of her childhood in Toronto, Canada, and Hwasun, South Korea, her place of birth.
A looming figure in this search is Lee’s now 90-year-old father, who met her mother while serving in a national intelligence agency under dictator Park Chung Hee in 1960s South Korea. He is the vital connection to her mother, although he’s an unreliable narrator with a history of abuse who speaks in a mother tongue she cannot fully understand.
Through a fabric of real and imagined histories, Lee reveals that some stories must still be told, even when there are no words for grief.
Poster design: Adam Maida https://adammaida.com/
Migrant Dreams
2016 (88 mins)
Producer/Director/Writer
Screenings: Hot Docs International Film Festival, DOXA Film Festival, One World Festival, CNEX Doc Festival, Brazilian International Labour Film Festival, Harlem International Film Festival, Melbourne doc Festival and Durban International Film Festival.
Awards:
Canadian Hillman Prize (2017): Awarded for its excellence in journalism and its examination of important social and economic issues in Canada.
Canadian Association of Journalists Award for Labour Reporting (2017): Recognized the film's powerful portrayal of labour issues.
Nominee - Donald Brittain Award (2018): Shortlisted as a finalist for Best Social or Political Documentary.
DOXA Festival honourable mention: Colin Low Award at the DOXA Documentary Film Festival.
Migrant Dreams Short
2013 (11:27)
An immersive installation honouring Ontario’s migrant farm workers created with photographer Deborah Barndt for the 2013 Mayworks Festival of Working People and the Arts.
THE REAL INGLORIOUS BASTARDS
2012 (43 mins)
Director/Writer
Jewish spies behind enemy lines in World War II
Awards:
Winner - Best Short Documentary GI Film Festival, 2013
Winner - Docudrama Cinematography Canadian Society of Cinematographers, 2013
Winner - Best History program Yorktown Film Festival, 2013
Winner - Best History Program Canadian Screen Awards 2014
JACK: THE INSPIRATIONAL EDUCATOR
2012 (6:49)
Producer/Director/Writer
A profile of Jack Layton, the former federal leader of the NDP
Hold the line
2009 (15:39)
Producer/Director/Writer
This short film chronicles the struggles of municipal workers in Windsor, Ontario after they are forced to go on strike to protect benefits and pension for future generations. Premiered on the floor of the CUPE Ontario Convention, held May 27-31, 2009.
sedition
2008 (12 mins)
Director/Writer
Screenings: Toronto Palestine Film Festival, OXDOX International Film Festival, Boston Palestine Film Festival
Spoken word slam artists Rafeef Ziadah and Boonaa Mohammad pack their poetic punches with bull's-eye aim at the politics of exile and identity. Spliced with the hypnotic beats of renowned Toronto musical group, LAL.
Tiger Spirit
2008 (72 mins)
Producer/Director/Writer
Screenings: Hot Docs Film Festival, Tri Continental Film Festival, Whistler Film Festival, Calgary International Film Festival, UN Association Film Festival, Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival
This feature documentary tells the story of modern Korea, a nation divided in half. The psychic scar shared by families divided during the Korean War in the 1950s is symbolized by the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) dividing communist North from capitalist South. Along this infamous border, filmmaker Min Sook Lee begins an emotion-charged journey into Korea’s broken heart, exploring the rhetoric and realism of reunification through the extraordinary stories of ordinary people. An eloquent tale of longing and hope, Tiger Spirit is an unforgettable portrait of Korea at a crossroads.
Awards:
WINNER – 2009 DONALD BRITTAIN GEMINI AWARD FOR BEST SOCIAL / POLITICAL Program
Borderless
2006 (16 mins)
Producer/Director/Writer
Screenings: Atlantic Women’s Film Festival, Seoul Women’s Film Festival, Queer Women of Colour Film Festival, Rencontres internationales du documentaire de Montreal.
A docu-poem about undocumented workers in Canada’s underground labour economy.
Narration written by Dionne Brand and narrated by d’bi. young anitfaafrika .
HOGTOWN: The Politics of Policing
2005 (96 mins)
Producer/Director/Writer
Screenings: Hot Docs Film Festival, Regent Park Film Festival.
Hogtown: The Politics of Policing is an unblinking look at the Toronto Police Services Board (TPSB), a civilian body that exercises civilian governance of policing.
Awards:
Winner of the 2006 Hot Docs Award for Best Canadian Feature Documentary
EL CONTRATO
2003 (52 mins)
Director/Writer
Screenings: Ibero American Film Festival, Cinema Politica Screening Series, Canadian Labour International Film Festival, , Rencontres internationales du documentaire de Montreal, Migrant Labour Film Festival – Seoul, Korea.
This documentary follows a migrant farm worker from Central Mexico, along with several of his co-workers, who work in farms in Leamington, Ontario. For 8 months a year, the town's population absorbs 4,000 migrant workers who toil under conditions, and for wages, that no local would accept. Yet despite a fear of repercussions, the workers voice their desire for dignity and respect.
Awards:
Nominee: Donald Brittain Award for Best Social or Political Documentary at the 20th Gemini Awards in 2005
Filmography (Chronological)
2025 · There Are No Words (100 min) · Director/Writer · An urgent documentary searching for memories of Lee’s mother, contemplating trauma and fractured memory.
2016 · Migrant Dreams (88 min) · Producer/Director/Writer · Migrant farm workers in Canada confront abuse and systemic oppression. Awards: Canadian Hillman Prize (2017), Canadian Association of Journalists Award for Labour Reporting (2017), Nominee Donald Brittain Award (2018), DOXA Festival Honorable Mention.
2013 · Migrant Dreams Short (11:27) ·Part of Immersive installation, alongside photographs of Deborah Barndt, honouring Ontario’s migrant farm workers for Mayworks Festival of Working People and the Arts.
2012 · Jack: The Inspirational Educator at RU (6:49) · Producer/Director/Writer · Profile of Jack Layton, former federal leader of the NDP.
2012 · Teo in Toronto (4:26) · Producer/Director/Writer · A migrant worker and street-based youth connect over a community garden project in Toronto.
2012 · The Real Inglorious Bastards (43 min) · Director/Writer · Jewish spies behind enemy lines in World War II. Awards: Best Short Documentary GI Film Festival (2013), Docudrama Cinematography Canadian Society of Cinematographers (2013), Best History Program Yorktown Film Festival (2013), Best History Program Canadian Screen Awards (2014).
2009 · Hold the Line (15:39) · Producer/Director/Writer · Chronicles Windsor municipal workers striking to protect pensions and benefits for future generations.
2008 · Sedition (16 min) · Director/Writer · Spoken word artists Rafeef Ziadah and Boonaa Mohammad on exile and identity, with music by Toronto group LAL.
2008 · Tiger Spirit (72 min) · Producer/Director/Writer · A journey along Korea’s DMZ exploring reunification and divided families. Award: Donald Brittain Gemini Award for Best Social/Political Program (2009).
2006 · Borderless (16 min) · Producer/Director/Writer · Docu-poem about undocumented workers in Canada’s underground labour economy.
2005 · Hogtown: The Politics of Policing (96 min) · Producer/Director/Writer · Examination of the Toronto Police Services Board. Award: Hot Docs Best Canadian Feature Documentary (2006).
2003 · El Contrato (52 min) · Director/Writer · Follows migrant farm workers from Mexico to Ontario. Award Nominee: Donald Brittain Award for Best Social or Political Documentary, Gemini Awards (2005).