Cindy Lee is a Korean American filmmaker and storyteller. In 2023, she directed and produced her first short documentary, The Stories They Didn’t Tell Us – Nina’s Story, about the stories a refugee Vietnamese American mother didn’t tell her three American-born children, with their separate interviews and perspectives.
In 2024, Cindy won the Arizona Filmmaker of the Year Award at the Phoenix Film Festival. Nina’s Story won the Audience Choice Award for Best Documentary Short Film at the Lowell Asian American Film Festival in MA.
In 2025, Cindy’s 2nd short documentary, DnhMuzic: My Muzic, My Journey, won Best Documentary at the Rock the Shorts Film Festival in LA. It was an Official Selection in the 2025 Phoenix Film Festival; Sparrowland Short Film Festival in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia; New York City Independent Film Festival, and the Detroit Black Film Festival.
In April 2026, her 3rd short documentary, Johann’s Story: Rewriting Life, screened at the Phoenix Film Festival in two programs: AAPI Directed Shorts and Arizona Shorts A.
Cindy has published personal essays that express her Korean American voice: “Am I a Conditional American?” in Transformations; “It’s Code” in Superstition Review.