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Sook-Yin Lee

Sook-Yin Lee

Actor, director, writer and composer · Vancouver, Canada

Sook-Yin Lee (born 1966) is a Toronto-based filmmaker, musician, actor, and broadcaster. Her feature film writer and directorial debut, Year of the Carnivore, starring Cristin Milioti, premiered at TIFF. In 2014, Lee won the Canadian Screen Award for Best Performance by a Lead Dramatic Actress in Jack. She wrote and performed Unsafe for Canadian Stage, which examined questions of censorship and artistic freedom. She won Best Director and Best Picture at the 2018 Downtown Los Angeles Film Festival for Octavio Is Dead! She is a music recording artist and film score composer, contributing songs to Infinity Pool and Antiviral. Sook-Yin Lee directs and co-writes the live-action movie adaptation of Chester Brown’s best-selling graphic novel Paying For It, which premiered at TIFF 2024.

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Biography from TMDB.

From
Vancouver, Canada
Works as
Actor, director, writer and composer
Titles
12 on Motif · 30 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 157 days to Oct 28Down 2% in 30 days

What are Sook-Yin Lee's films like?

Across their 7 Motif titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Bonds.

Genres

Comedy4 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 50th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Comedy movies
Drama3 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 35th percentile
: browse their Drama movies

Their Motif films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.

Themes

share of theme weight
Self
38%
Bonds
34%
Society
15%
Survival
7%
Power
3%
Ideas
3%
Romantic love5 titles, browse their movies with this themeIdentity3 titles, browse their movies with this themeSelf-worth3 titles, browse their movies with this themeFamily bonds2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 7 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Light: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their light movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 4 · Serious 3 · Dark 0

Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 3 · Stylized 4 · Heightened 0

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 3 · Charged 4 · Intense 0

Steady: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their steady movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 4 · Shifting 3 · Whiplash 0

Some laughs: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their some laughs movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 3 · Some laughs 3 · Funny 1

Slow burn: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their slow burn movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 7 · Even-paced 0 · Relentless 0

Engaged: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their engaged movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 2 · Engaged 5 · Full focus 0

Open-ended: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their open-ended movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

A split, not a type: Resolved 5 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 1

Roles they play

2 analyzed roles

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Contemplative
5
Warm
4
Melancholic
3
Hopeful
4
Joyful
2
Other
3

How their films linger

Hopeful5 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteThought-provoking3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteWistful2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end

  • Happy2
  • Bittersweet3
  • Ambiguous2

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Sook-Yin Lee's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 9 of their 12 Motif titles stream on a subscription or free service.

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Sook-Yin Lee's titles on Motif; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

30 credits, 12 with a Motif page; 1 appearance as themselves is hidden until asked for.

  • Boys Night (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2026)

    as Ed's Mom (voice)

  • Darkest Miriam(2024)

    as Susu Leung

    Midcredits score: 37th percentile of all films

  • Paying for It(2024)

    Director · Composer · Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 60th percentile of all films

  • Endless Cookie(2025)

    as Radio Announcer

    Midcredits score: 61st percentile of all films

  • Close to You(2023)

    as Emily

    Midcredits score: 35th percentile of all films

  • Rest and Relax (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2024)

    Director · Cinematographer · Composer · Editor · Producer · Writer · as Multiple Roles

  • A Fermenting Woman (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2024)

    as Marielle

  • 299 Queen Street West (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2023)

    Actor

  • Death and Sickness. (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2020)

    Director · Cinematographer · as Herself

  • Five Bucks at the Door: The Story of Crocks N Rolls (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2019)

    Actor

  • Octavio Is Dead!(2018)

    Director · Composer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 14th percentile of all films

  • Whispers and Shoulders (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2015)

    Director · as Specter

  • Three Movements (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2013)

    Co-Director · Story

  • Jack (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2013)

    as Olivia Chow

  • Year of the Carnivore(2009)

    Director · Composer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 38th percentile of all films

  • Toronto Stories (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2008)

    Director · Writer · as Willia

  • Gifted and Challenged: The Making of 'Shortbus' (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2007)

    as Sofia

  • Shortbus(2006)

    as Sofia

    Midcredits score: 66th percentile of all films

  • Unlocked (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2005)

    Director · Writer

  • 3 Needles (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2005)

    as Tong Xiu, the Rice Farmer's Wife

  • Girl Cleans Sink (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2004)

    Director · Writer

  • The Art of Woo (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2001)

    as Alessa Woo

  • Hedwig and the Angry Inch(2001)

    as Kwahng-Yi

    Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all films

  • Boy Meets Girl(1998)

    as Judy

    Midcredits score: 40th percentile of all films

  • Sliders(1995)

    Show 1 episode · as Pat

    Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all shows

  • Bad Company(1995)

    as Waitress

    Midcredits score: 21st percentile of all films

  • Green Dolphin Beat (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1994)

    as Mai-ling

  • Relentless: Mind of a Killer(1993)

    as Jenny

    Midcredits score: 10th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)

  • Escapades of the One Particular Mr. Noodle (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1990)

    Director · Writer · as Narrator (voice)

  • No Tickets at the Door (not in the Motif catalog yet)

    Actor

Career shape

Star power in the 82nd percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 30 titles, 29 of them dated from 1990 to 2026; peak year 2006.

Biggest box office

Shortbus (2006)

$5.6M worldwide

Highest rated

Shortbus (2006)

Midcredits 66th

Film career

19902026

Peak 2006 · their film career is on the way up. Film roles by billing, audience size and rating; 25+ votes. A show carries a single first-air date, so shows are not on the curve.

  • 1995Screen debut· Bad Company
  • 2006First top-billed film· Shortbus

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting23 of 30: 19 only acting, 4 with another role · typical Midcredits score40thDirecting11 of 30: 0 only directing, 11 with another roleWriting9 of 30: 0 only writing, 9 with another roleProducing1 of 30: 0 only producing, 1 with another roleMusic4 of 30: 0 only music, 4 with another roleCinematography2 of 30: 0 only cinematography, 2 with another roleEditing1 of 30: 0 only editing, 1 with another role

30 titles, 11 with more than one role — acting and directing overlap on 4 of them.

By decade

1990s6 · 6 acting · 1 crew2000s9 · 6 acting · 4 crew2010s5 · 3 acting · 3 crew2020s9 · 7 acting · 3 crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on Motif, shown from 5 scored.

How do Sook-Yin Lee's films land?

Their typical Motif film has a Midcredits score in the 38th percentile, the median of all 11; across their 7 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 43rd percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

43rdpercentile
Typical film, the median of 7

Approval · how many liked their films

36thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 7

Reach · how many have seen their films

58thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 7

Midcredits score across 12 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up1
  • 50th to 74th4
  • 25th to 49th4
  • Below 25th3

Shape of the crowd

5 of their 12 titles are Mixed.

  • Universally Loved1
  • Universally Panned1
  • Divisive1
  • Cult Classic1
  • Crowd Pleaser2
  • Broadly Agreed1
  • Mixed5

Most divisive · actor

Close to You (2023)

93rd percentile spread · 49% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · actor

Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001)

Midcredits 96th · 83% liked

Reviewers score the acting 73/100 in their films, across 7 reviewed titles; fans 80, detractors 55. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on Motif; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their Motif titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Is Sook-Yin Lee's work okay for kids?

Across up to 5 Motif titles with content scores, sex & nudity runs heavier than most films.

Their medianMedian of all filmsMiddle 80% of their titles
Sex & Nudity5 titles55–76 · median 67 · intenseheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 32

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.

Who does Sook-Yin Lee work with?

People who share at least 2 of Sook-Yin Lee's Motif titles, grouped by what they did on them; Kevin McDonald shares the most, 2.

Actors

Composers

Producers