Lee Isaac Chung

Early life and education

Chung was born on October 19, 1978, in Denver, to a family from South Korea. His family lived briefly in Atlanta before moving to a small farm in rural Lincoln, Arkansas. He attended Lincoln High School.

He is an alumnus of the U.S. Senate Youth Program. He attended Yale University to study biology. At Yale, with exposure to world cinema in his senior year, he dropped his plans for medical school to pursue film-making. He later pursued graduate studies in film-making at the University of Utah.

Career

Chung's directorial debut was Munyurangabo, a movie set in Rwanda, a collaboration with students at an international relief base in Kigali. It tells an intimate story about the friendship between two boys in the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide. Chung had accompanied his wife, an art therapist, to Rwanda in 2006 when she volunteered to work with those affected by the 1994 genocide. He taught a film-making class at a relief base in Kigali. The movie was an opportunity to present the contemporary reality of Rwanda and to provide his students with practical film training. After he developed a nine-page outline with co-writer Samuel Gray Anderson, Chung shot the film over 11 days, working with a team of nonprofessional actors Chung found through local orphanages and with his students as crew members.

Munyurangabo premiered at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival as an Official Selection and played as an official selection at top film festivals worldwide, including the Busan International Film Festival, the Toronto International Film Festival, the Berlin International Film Festival, the Rotterdam International Film Festival, Roger Ebert's Ebertfest, and AFI Fest in Hollywood, where it won the festival's Grand Prize. It was an official selection of the New Directors/New Films Festival at New York's Lincoln Center and the Museum of Modern Art. The film received critical acclaim, and Chung was nominated at the Independent Spirit Awards ("Someone to Watch," 2008) and the Gotham Awards.

Chung's second film, Lucky Life (2010), was developed with the support of Kodak Film and the Cinéfondation at the Cannes Film Festival. Inspired by the poetry of Gerald Stern, the film premiered at the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival in New York City and was screened at festivals worldwide.

In 2012 Chung was named a United States Artists (USA) Fellow.

Chung's third film, Abigail Harm (2012), is based on the Korean folktale "The Woodcutter and the Nymph". It stars Amanda Plummer, Will Patton, and Burt Young and was produced by Eugene Suen and Samuel Gray Anderson. Shot on location in New York City, the film was an official selection at the Busan International Film Festival, Torino Film Festival, San Diego Asian Film Festival, CAAMFest, and winner of the Grand Prize and Best Director at Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival.

In addition to film-making, Chung mentors young Rwandan film-makers through Almond Tree Rwanda, the Rwandan outpost for his U.S.-based production company, Almond Tree Films. Almond Tree Rwanda has produced several highly regarded shorts that have traveled to international festivals. Chung co-directed the 2015 Rwandan documentary I Have Seen My Last Born with Anderson. Produced by Chung, Anderson, John Kwezi, and Eugene Suen, the film focuses on the family relations and history of a genocide survivor in modern-day Rwanda.

He wrote and directed the semiautobiographical film Minari (2020), which was released to critical acclaim. Chung wrote the film in the summer of 2018, by which time he was considering retiring from film-making and accepted a teaching job at the University of Utah's Asia Campus in Incheon. Recalling this period, he said "I figured I might have just one shot at making another film ... I needed to make it very personal and throw in everything I was feeling."

In 2020, it was initially announced that Chung would direct and rewrite the live-action adaptation of the anime film Your Name, replacing Marc Webb as director. In July 2021, Chung departed the project, citing scheduling issues. Also in 2020, it was announced he was developing a romance film set in New York and Hong Kong, produced by Plan B and MGM.

In March 2023, he directed an episode of the third season of the Disney+ series, The Mandalorian. In July 2024, Chung directed Twisters, a sequel to the 1996 film Twister.

In January 2025, it was reported that Chung would direct the science-fiction film The Traveler for Skydance.{{Cite web|last=Grobar|first=Matt|date=January 21, 2025|title=Lee Isaac Chung To Direct Sci-Fi Family Drama ‘The Traveler’ For Skydance

In July 2025, Chung entered negotiations to direct a prequel film based on the Ocean's franchise starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling.

Personal life

Chung is married to Valerie Chu, whom he met while they were students at Yale. They have a daughter.

Filmography

Film

Documentary

• I Have Seen My Last Born (2015)

Television

Awards and nominations

References

References

1. (April 1, 2008). "한인 2세 정이삭 감독 칸 영화제 지원작품에". Korea Times.
2. [https://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=festivals&jump=review&id=2478&reviewid=VE1117933771&cs=1 ''Variety'' May 25, 2007]
3. "Lee Isaac Chung: Biography".
4. Castillo, Monica. (February 12, 2021). "Denver-Born Director Lee Isaac Chung's 'Minari' Blends Childhood Memories Into A New Rural American Tale".
5. Eifling, Sam. (1997-05-16). "The 1997 Arkansas Times Academic All-Star Team". [[Arkansas Times]].
6. "United States Senate Youth Program Roster 1997".
7. "University of Utah alum Lee Isaac Chung tells his family story in 'Minari,' a Sundance winner and Oscar contender".
8. Lim, Dennis. (March 23, 2008). "Rwanda, Speaking in Its Own Voice".
9. [http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090722/REVIEWS/907229989 ''Chicago Sun Times'' July 22, 2009]
10. Koehler, Robert. (May 27, 2007). "Liberation Day".
11. Wood, Robin. "A Better Tomorrow".
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14. Vourlias, Christopher. (February 4, 2012). "U.S. shingle grows Rwanda film biz".
15. Kay, Jeremy. (February 10, 2020). "Why Lee Isaac Chung almost quit filmmaking before directing 'Minari'".
16. Kroll, Justin. (September 18, 2020). "Lee Isaac Chung To Direct 'Your Name' Live-Action Reimagining From Toho, Paramount And Bad Robot".
17. (21 July 2021). "Director Lee Isaac Chung Exits Paramount's Live-Action Your Name Movie".
18. McNary, Dave. (December 18, 2020). "MGM and Brad Pitt's Plan B Team Up for Films With 'Minari,' 'Bad Education' Directors".
19. Couch, Aaron. (January 16, 2023). "'The Mandalorian' Reveals Season 3 Trailer, New Directors".
20. Vlessing, Etan. (December 15, 2022). "Lee Isaac Chung in Talks to Direct 'Twisters' Sequel". The Hollywood Reporter.
21. Rubin, Rebecca. (December 20, 2022). "'Twister' Sequel Sets Summer 2024 Release Date". Variety.
22. (April 14, 2023). "Glen Powell To Star Opposite Daisy Edgar-Jones In 'Twister' Sequel For Universal & Amblin Entertainment". Deadline.
23. D'Alessandro, Anthony. (July 31, 2025). "‘Twisters’ Filmmaker Lee Isaac Chung In Talks To Helm ‘Ocean’s’ Prequel At Warner Bros".
24. Park, Jane. (2023-11-15). "'Minari' Director Lee Isaac Chung '01 talks growing up, filmmaking".
25. (2020-01-29). "'If it moves me I'm into it': Steven Yeun on new film Minari".
26. "'I Prayed!' Minari Director Lee Isaac Chung's Daughter, 7, Celebrates Dad's Golden Globe Win".
27. Hipes, Patrick. (February 1, 2020). "Sundance Film Festival Awards: 'Minari' Scores Double Top Honors – The Complete Winners List". [[Deadline Hollywood]].
28. (February 28, 2021). "Golden Globes: Winners & Nominees".
29. (January 26, 2021). "National Board of Review Names 'Da 5 Bloods' Best Picture, Spike Lee Becomes Second Black Director Winner". [[Los Angeles Times]].
30. (January 26, 2021). "'Minari,' 'Never Rarely Sometimes Always' Top 2021 Independent Spirit Award Nominations".
31. Davis, Clayton. (February 8, 2021). "Critics Choice Awards: 'Mank' Leads With 12 Nominations, Netflix Makes History With Four Best Picture Nominees". [[Variety (magazine).
32. (March 9, 2021). "DGA Awards Film Nominations: 'Nomadland', 'Minari', 'Mank', 'Chicago 7' & 'Promising Young Woman' Helmers Vie For Top Prize".
33. "The 2020 Detroit Film Critics Society Awards".