About the Grace Lee Project

When Korean American filmmaker Grace Lee was growing up in Missouri, she was the only Grace Lee she knew. Once she left the Midwest however, everyone she met seemed to know "another Grace Lee." But why did they assume that all Grace Lees were reserved, dutiful, piano-playing overachievers? The filmmaker plunges into a highly unscientific investigation into all those Grace Lees who break the mold -- from a fiery social activist to a rebel who tried to burn down her high school. With wit and charm, THE GRACE LEE PROJECT puts a hilarious spin on the eternal question, "What's in a name?"

My name is Grace Lee. I am a filmmaker -- not to be mistaken with the other filmmaker Grace Lee in Portland, Oregon, who's originally from Chicago. I'm the Grace Lee from Columbia, Missouri, now residing in Los Angeles, with stops in Seoul, New York, and San Francisco in between. When I was growing up in Missouri in the '70s and '80s, I was the only Grace Lee I knew; in fact, I was usually the only Asian girl around. All this changed when I left for New York, and later California, where I would meet people who would insist on telling me about "another Grace Lee" they once knew.

Most of the time these other Grace Lees were only faintly remembered. They were "good girls" who listened to their parents, violin prodigies, 16-year-old Harvard freshmen, devout Christians. The more I heard about these other Grace Lees, the more I became convinced that "Grace Lee" signified an unmemorable, conservative hyper-achiever, confirming already existing stereotypes of Asian Americans. I secretly feared that my name alone lumped me together with people I felt I had nothing in common with, or worse, with people who made me look bad! Was I just as bland and unmemorable as those other Grace Lees? And who was I to judge these complete strangers? After years of hearing about my alter egos, I had to find out if my fears were founded in reality.

In the course of preparing and making the film, I contacted and was contacted by Grace Lees all over the US and around the world. I meet them through personal referrals, word of mouth and via a website I established called gracelee.net. My website included a survey that Grace Lees could fill out, another that "friends of Grace Lees" could complete, and an on-going discussion group. Despite the differences in our ages and experiences and where we came from, it quickly became clear to me that there was a genuine sense of community among those of us interested in discovering our Grace Lee-ness (or lack thereof).

During the making of THE GRACE LEE PROJECT, both my best hopes and worst fears were confirmed and there were many surprises along the way. I learned what makes each of the Grace Lees that I met unique and what binds us all together. I hope you enjoy the journey as much as I have.

THE GRACE LEE PROJECT has received support from the National Asian American Telecommunications Association and the Rockefeller Foundation.

The Filmmakers

A LeeLee Films Production

Produced and Directed by
Grace Lee

Co-Producer and Editor
Amy Ferraris

Executive Producer
In-Ah Lee

Director of Photography
Jerry A. Henry

Written by
Grace Lee and Amy Ferraris

Music Composed by
Woody Pak

Animations by
BARKADA(KO) ART + DESIGN

Title Design and Color Correction
Acht Frankfurt

Motion Graphics Artist
Vincent Tsu

Production Sound
Tom Edgar

Researchers
Susy Foreman
Adrienne Kisson
Chamara Russo
Aldo Velasco
Jacqueline Yau

Sound Editor
Amy Ferraris

Re-Recording Mixer
Pete Horner

Website Developer
Tom Edgar

Very Special Thanks to
Grace Millie Lee
Grace Lee
Grace Lee Boggs
Grace Lee
Grace Wing Chi Lee
Grace Hejin Lee
Grace Lee
Grace Lee
Grace Lee
Grace Lee
Graise Lee
Grace M. Lee
Grace Jane Lee
Grace Eunjeong Lee
Grace Sonia Lee
Grace Lee
Grace Lee
Grace Lee
Grace Midori Lee Danziger
Grace Lee
Grace Yun Lee
Grace Tae Eun Lee
Grace Jiyun Lee
Grace M. Lee
Grace Kyoung Mi Lee
Grace Lee-Park
Grace Wonhee Lee
Grace Jina Lee
Grace Jee-Hae Lee
Helen Grace Whiteside
Grace Tsen Lee
Grace Ming Lee
Grace Lee Chorng Yin
Grace Lee
Graciela Lee

Additional Camera
Patti Lee
Bryan Donnell
Juli Kang

Interns
Janet Chen
Kim DeRose
Emily Foster
Katharine Guevarra
Jin Yoo-Kim
June Kim
Hyuk Kim
Olivia Lee
Alexandra Lewis
Nandini Rajwade

Funded in part by
National Asian American Telecommunications Association
The Program for Media Artists, an initiative of The Rockefeller Foundation
UCLA Institute for American Cultures

Do You Know Grace Lee?
www.gracelee.net