Min Sook Lee

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Min Sook Lee
이민숙
Born1969 (age 54–55)
South Korea
NationalityCanadian
Alma materYork University
Occupations
  • Filmmaker
  • screenwriter
  • academic
  • political activist
EmployerOCAD University
Notable credits
Political partyNew Democratic Party

Min Sook Lee (Korean: 이민숙; born 1969) is a Canadian documentary filmmaker, screenwriter, academic, and political activist.[1]

Early life[edit]

Lee was born in South Korea and immigrated to Canada with her family at the age of three, growing up in downtown Toronto, where her family owned a convenience store.[2] Lee and her sisters worked long hours behind the counters, often translating for their parents, who did not speak English.[2][3]

As a teenager, Lee joined the anti-apartheid movement in Toronto, which she credits with introducing her to political activism.[3]

Film career[edit]

Lee is a self-taught documentary filmmaker who has directed eight feature documentaries, often focusing on labour, migration, and social justice issues.[4]

Early in her career, Lee was news director at community radio station CKLN-FM from 1996 to 1998,[5] an assistant to documentary filmmaker Sylvia Sweeney,[5] and a news reporter at television station Toronto 1 from 2004 to 2005.[6]

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.[7] Lee was awarded the Cesar E. Chavez Black Eagle Award for the film, which was also a nominee for the Donald Brittain Award for Best Social or Political Documentary at the 20th Gemini Awards in 2005.[8]

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.[9] The film won the Best Canadian Feature Documentary award at the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival.[10]

Her 2008 film Tiger Spirit told the story of Korean families divided by the Korean War and the border between North Korea and South Korea,[11] and won the Donald Brittain Award at the 24th Gemini Awards in 2009.[12]

She subsequently directed 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.[13]

The Real Inglorious Bastards won the Canadian Screen Award for Best History or Biography Documentary Program or Series at the 2nd Canadian Screen Awards in 2014,[14] where Lee also received a nomination for Best Direction in a Documentary Program.[15]

Lee was co-creator of the television sitcom She's the Mayor, which aired on VisionTV.[16]

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.[17] She was awarded the Canadian Hillman Prize, which honours journalists whose work identifies important social and economic issues in Canada,[18] and the Canadian Association of Journalists Award for Labour Reporting. It also received an honorable mention from the Colin Low Award jury at the 2016 DOXA Documentary Film Festival,[19] and was shortlisted for the Donald Brittain Award at the 6th Canadian Screen Awards.[20]

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,[21] citing her work to "engage non-arts audiences, and that challenges Eurocentric notions of art".[22][23]

Lee is an assistant professor at OCAD University, where her teaching and research focus on the relationship between art and social change. She previously taught documentary filmmaking at Ryerson University's School of Image Arts MFA program.[21][24]

Filmography[edit]

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
2009 My Toxic Baby Documentary 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

Political activity[edit]

Lee was the New Democratic Party candidate in Toronto—Danforth for the 2019 federal election.[3] In her campaign, she committed to bring in a one per cent 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.

On election night, Lee finished in second with 33.2 per cent of the vote to incumbent Liberal MP Julie Dabrusin.[25]

Electoral record[edit]

2019 Canadian federal election: Toronto—Danforth
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Liberal Julie Dabrusin 27,681 47.7 +5.36 $75,766
New Democratic Min Sook Lee 19,283 33.2 -6.97 $102,067
Conservative Zia Choudhary 6,091 10.5 +0.64 $19,351
Green Chris Tolley 3,761 6.5 +1.79
People's Tara Dos Remedios 621 1.1 - $3,633
Animal Protection Elizabeth Abbott 261 0.4 -0.24 $2,645
Independent John Kladitis 210 0.4 - $2,953
Communist Ivan Byard 151 0.3 -
Total valid votes/expense limit 58,059 100.0
Total rejected ballots 413
Turnout 58,472 71.9
Eligible voters 81,283
Liberal hold Swing +6.17
Source: Elections Canada[26][27]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Min Sook Lee to run for NDP in Toronto-Danforth in upcoming federal election". Beach Metro Community News. 11 June 2019. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
  2. ^ a b Jetelina, Margaret (9 February 2017). "Immigrant Women of Inspiration 2017: the creative journeys of five female artists". Canadian Immigrant. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ Jacobs, Jonas (1 May 2016). "POV Profile: Min Sook Lee". Point of View.
  5. ^ a b Michael Posner, "Better than Inglourious Basterds - and true". The Globe and Mail, November 8, 2012.
  6. ^ "Pols hit the big screen". The Globe and Mail, April 2, 2004.
  7. ^ Sharon Hill, "Film angers greenhouse operators". Windsor Star, September 25, 2003.
  8. ^ Alex Strachan, "Two top comedies all but snubbed by Geminis". Vancouver Sun, October 12, 2005.
  9. ^ Chris Young, "Hogtown puts police board in camera's eye; Filmmaker saw City Hall's rough period But still has faith in Toronto's institutions". Toronto Star, April 23, 2005.
  10. ^ "Hogtown muckraker digs up prize at Hot Docs". National Post, May 2, 2005.
  11. ^ Frank Loreto, "Tiger Spirit". Canadian Review of Materials, June 18, 2010.
  12. ^ "Gemini Award winners". Ottawa Citizen, November 15, 2009.
  13. ^ Michael Korb, "True, glorious 'Inglorious' tale". Prince George Citizen, November 12, 2012.
  14. ^ John R. Kennedy, "History, Food Network shows win at Canadian Screen Awards". Global News, March 5, 2014.
  15. ^ Manori Ravindran, "“Watermark,” “My Prairie Home” up for Canadian Screen Awards". RealScreen, January 13, 2014.
  16. ^ "She's the Mayor finds laughs in Hamilton". Hamilton Spectator. 16 April 2010. Archived from the original on 26 August 2012. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  17. ^ Victoria Ahearn, "Plight of Canada's migrant workers profiled in 'Migrant Dreams' documentary". Canadian Press, May 6, 2016.
  18. ^ Paloma Martinez-Mendez, "Le documentaire « Migrant Dreams » sur les travailleurs migrants remporte le Prix d’excellence Hillman 2017". Radio Canada International, May 22, 2027.
  19. ^ Daniele Alcinii, "'Cameraperson,' 'Twelve Landscapes' take DOXA prizes". RealScreen, May 16, 2016.
  20. ^ "Canadian Screen Awards 2018: Anne has leading 13 nominations". CBC News, January 16, 2018.
  21. ^ a b "Min Sook Lee". Canadian Film Centre. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  22. ^ "2019 Mayworks Labour Arts Awards Call for Nominations". Mayworks. Archived from the original on 16 July 2019.
  23. ^ Manek, Haseena (10 December 2012). "Mayworks Festival of Working People and the Arts: Recognition where it is overdue". Story Board. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  24. ^ "FCADers Nominated for Canadian Screen Awards". Ryerson University. 21 January 2014. Archived from the original on 16 July 2019.
  25. ^ Katie Daubs, "Liberal wins over new NDP hopeful". Toronto Star, October 22, 2019.
  26. ^ "List of confirmed candidates". Elections Canada. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
  27. ^ "Election Night Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
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