Chris Chan Lee

Chris Chan Lee (also credited as Chris "Bia" Lee) (born in San Francisco, California) is an Asian American filmmaker.

After graduating from the USC School of Cinematic Arts in Los Angeles, California, Lee wrote/directed Yellow, an independently financed feature film about the harrowing grad night of eight Korean-American teens in Los Angeles that culminates in a violent crime that will forever change their lives. Yellow was invited to over a dozen film festivals, including the Slamdance Dramatic Competition 1998, Singapore International 1998, and the Los Angeles Film Festival 1997. The film won the 1999 Golden Ring Award for Best Asian American Independent Film.

Yellow received a U.S. theatrical release by Phaedra Cinema (now Pathfinder Pictures) and worldwide sales by Cinema Arts. It garnered high critical praise throughout the nation from publications such as the Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert), the Los Angeles Times, New York Daily News, and the Village Voice. A sensation on the college circuit during its educational run by NAATA; young audiences got to see their lives reflected onscreen for the first time.

In 2002 Chris completed a one-year stint in Singapore directing television at MediaCorp Studios for English-language primetime TV series. A one-hour drama on which he was a principal director was subsequently nominated for Best Television Drama (as well as three best acting nominations) at the Asian Television Awards.

In 2003, Lee was selected as one of three filmmakers for the Fast Track program sponsored by Filmmaker Magazine and the IFP Los Angeles Film Festival for his latest film, Undoing. The movie stars Sung Kang, Russell Wong, Kelly Hu and Leonardo Nam. The film is a character-driven neo-noir story set in Los Angeles. It premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival in July 2006.

Lee has also directed music videos for Asian American artists Seam and Mountain Brothers, which have aired on NTV.

Lee is considered to be a pioneer in making films about Asian Americans.