Born 1974 Hattiesburg, Mississippi
BIOGRAPHY
Thad Lee is an award-winning filmmaker, a writer of essays, screenplays, and poetry, and a versatile photographer. He earned English and Philosophy degrees from the University of Mississippi and an MFA in Screenwriting from the University of New Orleans. His education includes a poetry workshop in Italy and film studies in Los Angeles, New York, and Spain. Thad was recently honored by the Mississippi Arts Commission with an Artist’s Fellowship in Media Arts. He lives with his visual-artist wife, Carlyle Wolfe Lee, in Oxford, Mississippi.
Thad Lee is currently working on documentary films about married photographers, Maude Schuyler and Langdon Clay and the rock-n-roll band, Blue Mountain.
EDUCATION
MFA / 2018 / Screenwriting / University of New Orleans
Summer 2005 / Spanish Film / Madrid, Spain / University of New Orleans
Summer 2004 / Ezra Pound Poetry / Brunnenburg, Italy / University of New Orleans
Summer 2000 / Film Workshop / New York University
BA / 1996 / English / University of Mississippi
BA / 1996 / Philosophy / University of Mississippi
Summer 1996 / Spanish / Cuernavaca, Mexico / University of Mississippi
FILMOGRAPHY
2023 / Two Lives in Photography: Maude Schuyler Clay and Langdon Clay / Documentary / Director, Editor
2023 / Spring at Home: Carlyle Wolfe Lee and Thad Lee, Repeat the Sounding Joy, Spalding Nix Fine Art / Documentary / Director, Camera Operator, Editor
2023 / Wildflowers: Carlyle Wolfe Lee and Thad Lee, Repeat the Sounding Joy, Spalding Nix Fine Art / Documentary / Director, Camera Operator, Editor
2023 / Carlyle Wolfe Lee: Marking Time, Walter Anderson Museum of Art / Documentary / Director, Camera Operator, Editor
2023 / Carlyle Wolfe Lee: June Green, Samuel Owen Gallery / Documentary / Director, Camera Operator, Editor
2022 / Jason Bouldin: How Can I Keep From Singing? / Documentary / Director, Camera Operator, Editor
2022 / Carlyle Wolfe Lee: Golden, David Lusk Gallery / Documentary / Director, Camera Operator, Editor
2022 / Murmurations: Carlyle Wolfe Lee and Thad Lee / Documentary / Director, Camera Operator, Editor
2020 / Carlyle Wolfe Lee: Zinnias, David Lusk Gallery / Documentary / Director, Camera Operator, Editor
2020 / All That You Love Will Be Carried Away / Short / Writer, Director, Producer, Editor
2016 / I of the Storm / Documentary / Director, Producer, Editor
2016 / Fiddler's Green / Music Video / Director, Editor, Camera Operator
2012 / DVD Blues or Thad Calls Barton About Renaldo & Clara / Short / Director, Actor, Camera Operator
2012 / The Show Must Go On / Short / Actor
2012 / Spain / Documentary / Camera Operator, Producer, Editor
2011 / Ace Atkin's Infamous / Documentary / Camera Operator, Director, Editor
2011 / The Hanging of Big Todd Wade / Short / Actor
2011 / Bill Lilly Builds a Greenhouse / Documentary / Director, Editor
2011 / Fall Apart / Music Video / Director, Editor
2010 / On the Porch with T-Model Ford / Documentary / Producer, Editor
2010 / Year of Our Lord / Documentary / Director, Editor
2010 / Night of the Loup Garou / Feature / Actor
2009 / The Debate Starts Here / Documentary / Camera Operator
2009 / Carried Away / Feature / Actor
2009 / Double Decker Confidential / Short Feature / Actor, Writer, Director, Producer
2008 / Mantis Rhes / Short / Writer, Director, Producer, Editor
2008 / The 70s Song / Music Video / Writer, Director, Producer, Editor
2008 / Blue Mountain, The One That Got Away / Documentary / Camera Operator, Director, Producer
2005 / The Town in the Late Afternoon / Documentary / Camera Operator, Director, Producer
2005 / What the Old Man Told Me / Music Video / Writer, Director, Producer
2005 / The Red Dawns / Short / Actor, Writer, Director, Producer
2004 / The Refracted Fractions of Bill Lavender: Poet, Dogwalker / Documentary / Director, Producer
2003 / The University Grays: From Students to Soldiers / Associate Producer
2003 / October / Short / Writer, Director
2001 / Dinner with Huckleberry Sawyer / Short / Writer, Director
2000 / The Translator / Short / Production Assistant
2000 / July / Short / Actor
FILM SCREENINGS & AWARDS
2024 / Two Lives in Photography: Maude Schuyler Clay and Langdon Clay
Mississippi Public Broadcasting
2023 / Two Lives in Photography: Maude Schuyler Clay and Langdon Clay
Oxford Film Festival / Oxford, Mississippi
Mississippi Museum of Art / Jackson, Mississippi
2020 / All That You Love Will Be Carried Away (Narrative Short)
Black Hills Film Festival / Hill City, South Dakota
New York International Film Awards / New York, New York / Best Thriller
ARFF Barcelona International Awards / Barcelona, Spain / Finalist
Los Angeles Film Awards / Los Angeles, California / Honorable Mention Narrative Short
Golden Valley Global Cinefest / Kolkata, India / Best Short Film
Indie Short Fest / Los Angeles, California / Best Short Film, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Actor - Rhes Low, Best Cinematography - Matthew Graves
Hollywood Just4Shorts / Los Angeles, California / Best Short Film
Festigious International Film Festival / Los Angeles, California / Best Mystery Film
Film Con Awards / Best Narrative Short Film
Independent Shorts Awards / Los Angeles, California / Best Film of the Month, Best Indie Short, Best Mystery Short, Best Director, Best Cinematography - Matthew Graves, Best Actor - Rhes Low, Best Supporting Actor - Johnny McPhail, Best Editing - Thad Lee and Matthew Graves, Best Sound Design
Oxford Film Festival / Oxford, Mississippi / Mississippi Film Honorable Mention
Top Shorts / United States / Thriller Honorable Mention
Independent Horror Movie Awards / United States / Best Writing, Best Music
Kyev International Film Awards / Kyev, Ukraine
Kosice International Monthly Film Festival / Košice, Slovakia / Short Film Honorable Mention
International Screen Awards / Best International Fiction Featurette
Indie X Film Fest / Los Angeles, California / Best Short, Best Indie Short, Best Producer, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Outstanding Achievement by a Supporting Actor - Johnny McPhail, Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography - Matthew Graves, Best Sound Editing - Jeffrey Reed
Rome Independent Prisma Awards / Rome, Italy
Prague International Indie Film Festival / Prague, Czech Republic / Short Film Honorable Mention
Tagore International Film Festival / Shantiniketan, Bolpur, India / Outstanding Achievement - Short Film
Best Shorts Competition / Special Mention - Award of Excellence
Hitchcock Film Awards / Short Film Semi-Finalist
Piermont Film Festival / Piermont, New York
Big Bear Film Summit / Big Bear City, California
Mammoth Lakes International Film Festival / Mammoth Lakes, California
American Screen Awards / Award of Excellence - American Fiction Featurette
SHORT to the Point / Bucharest, Romania
STIFF: Seattle True Independent Film Festival / Seattle, Washington
Halloween International Film Festival / Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina
Beyond the Curve International Film Festival / Paris, France
Nightmares Film Festival / Columbus, Ohio
Marina del Ray Film Festival / Los Angeles, California
Chicago Indie Film Awards / Chicago, Illinois
Studio City International Film & TV Festival / Los Angeles, California / Best Narrative Short Film
Southern Shorts Awards / Roswell, Georgia / Best Thriller & Mystery Film, Best Director, Best Music - Winn McElroy
Charleston International Film Awards / Charleston, South Carolina / Best International Featurette Narrative
Myrtle Beach International Film Festival / Myrtle Beach, South Carolina / Best International Featurette Narrative
Diabolical Horror Film Festival / United States
Silicon Beach Film Festival / Los Angeles, California
New York Tri-State International Film Festival /
Tokyo International Short Film Festival / Tokyo, Japan / Best Short Film Finalist
Seoul International Film Festival / Seoul, Korea / Best Short Film Finalist
4th Dimension Independent Film Festival / Bali, Indonesia / Best Short Film Nominee
New Wave Short Film Festival / Munich, Germany / Best Short Film Finalist
Independent Horror Movie Awards / United States
Roma Short Film Festival / Rome, Italy / Best Short Film Finalist
2017 / i of the storm (Experimental)
Oxford Film Festival / Oxford, Mississippi
2016 / Fiddler's Green (Music Video)
Oxford Film Festival / Oxford, Mississippi
2011 / Bill Lily Builds a Green House (Documentary)
Oxford Film Festival / Oxford, Mississippi
2010 / Fire (Experimental)
Oxford Film Festival / Oxford, Mississippi
2009 / Double Decker Confidential (Narrative Short) / The 70s Song (Music Video) / Bobby Joyner
Oxford Film Festival / Oxford, Mississippi
2008 / Blue Mountain: The One That Got Away (Documentary) / Mantis Rhes (Narrative Short)
Oxford Film Festival / Oxford, Mississippi
2007 / The Town in the Late Afternoon (Documentary)
Oxford Film Festival / Oxford, Mississippi
2006/The Refracted Fractions of Bill Lavender: Poet, Dogwalker (Experimental)
Oxford Film Festival / Oxford, Mississippi
2005 / The Red Dawns (Narrative Short) / What the Old Man Told Me (Music Video)
Oxford Film Festival / Oxford, Mississippi
2004 / October (Narrative Short)
Magnolia Film Festival / Starkville, Mississippi / Best Short Film
Ozark Film Festival /
Pensacola Film & Television Festival / Pensacola, Florida / Best Short Film
Kansas City Filmmakers Jubilee / Kansas City, Missouri
Crossroads Film Festival / Jackson, Mississippi
RiverRun Film Festival / Winston-Salem, North Carolina
2003 / October (Narrative Short)
Universal Studios Lot, Shady Acres / Universal City, California
Oxford Film Festival / Oxford, Mississippi / Best Short Film
Baytowne Film Festival / Miramar Beach, Florida / Best Film
Deep Ellum Film Festival / Dallas, Texas
Indie Memphis Film Festival / Memphis, Tennessee
Empire Film Festival / New York, New York
2002 / Dinner with Huckleberry Sawyer (Narrative Short)
Crossroads Film Festival / Jackson, Mississippi
PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBITIONS
2024 / Wilson Fellowship Exhibition / Dixon Gallery and Gardens / Memphis, Tennessee (July - September)
2024 / Postcards / Southside Gallery / Oxford, Mississippi (July - August)
2024 / Memphis 2024 / Dixon Gallery and Gardens / Memphis, Tennessee
2024 / Memphis Flower Show / Dixon Gallery and Gardens / Memphis, Tennessee
2023 / White Christmas / Southside Gallery / Oxford, Mississippi
2023 / Wilson Fellows Holiday Exhibition / Wilson, Arkansas
2023 / Ensemble / Spalding Nix Fine Art / Atlanta, Georgia
2023 / Repeat the Sounding Joy / with Carlyle Wolfe Lee / Spalding Nix Fine Art / Atlanta, Georgia
2023 / Hot Off the Wall / Dixon Gallery and Gardens / Memphis, Tennessee
2023 / Harvest Supper Art Auction / University of Mississippi Museum / Oxford, Mississippi
2022 / Blue Christmas / Southside Gallery / Oxford, Mississippi
2022 / Hot Off the Wall / Dixon Gallery and Gardens / Memphis, Tennessee
2022 / Harvest Supper Art Auction / University of Mississippi Museum / Oxford, Mississippi
2022 / Summer Group Exhibition / Southside Gallery / Oxford, Mississippi
2022 / Art Party / Mississippi Museum of Art / Jackson, Mississippi
2021 / Murmurations: Carlyle Wolfe Lee and Thad Lee / Southside Gallery / Oxford, Mississippi
SCREENPLAYS
2017 / A Boy Pulled into Time
2016 / The Selfies
2015 / The Well
2014 / Luka Star and the Glass Hotel on the Moon
2007 / Johnson City
2000 / Midnight Madness in Mississippi
2000 / The Courting of Gloria Hancock
1999 / Plastic City
1999 / Theories and Observations
1998 / After Abraxas
1998 / Box of Rain
PUBLICATIONS
2023 / "Southside Gallery Turns Thirty" / A Special Publication of The Oxford Eagle / November 23, 2023 / Writer, Photographer / Click here to read
2023 / Event Photographs / American Landscapes: Meditations of Art and Literature in a Changing World/ Edited by Ann J. Abadie and J. Richard Gruber / University of Mississippi Press / 2023 / Photographer
2023 / "Award Winning Images: Milly Moorehead West Captured Mississippi Moments That Matter", Profile published by The Oxford Eagle, February 2023 / Writer, Photographer
2023 / Author Photo / Stalking Shakespeare: A Memoir of Madness, Murder, and My Search for the Poet Beneath the Paint by Lee Durkee / Photographer
2023 / Author Photo / "What did Shakespeare really look like? One writer's quest to find out." Review by Malcolm Forbes, Washington Post, April 25, 2023 / Photographer
2022 / "The Spirit of Ajax Diner: Soaking up life from a barstool at an Oxford, Mississippi, holdout." by Lee Durkee, Garden and Gun, April-May 2022, Pages 172-73 / Photographer
2022 / "And I'll Leave You With This: A Remembrance of Barton Segal." The Local Voice, Issue # 389, March 10-24, 2022, Pages 7-8 / Writer, Photographer
2022 / "All's Well in Irondale: Couple's shared vision creates a home and life of beauty." Oxford Magazine, January/February 2022, Pages 11-19 / Writer, Photographer
2021 / "Filled with Love: For Julie Carr Chadwick, family means music, laughter and love." Brookhaven Magazine, Fall 2021, Pages 22-30 / Writer, Photographer
2021 / Speak, Okinawa: A Memoir by Elizabeth Miki Brina, Alfred A. Knopf, New York / Photographer
2021 / "The Art of the Portrait Painter: Portrait Painter Jason Bouldin." Harvard Magazine, November/December 2021 / Photographer
2021 / "I Have a Voice" by Wendy Jean Garrison / MAC MississippiFolkLife.org / Fall 2021 Issue: Performances and the Pandemic / November 3, 2021 / Photographer
2021 / "A Doctor Delivers Blooms: Patton's home is a fusion of family and gardening." Oxford Magazine, September/October 2021, Pages 17-25 / Writer, Photographer
2021 / "Harmony at Home: Chadwicks build a life around a former fishin' cabin.'" Oxford Magazine, July/August 2021, Pages 21-26 / Writer, Photographer
2021 / "Home Is Where the Art Is: Walter and Vivian Neill built their home in Lafayette County around art and the natural beauty outside." Oxford Magazine, March/April 2021, Pages 8-11 / Writer, Photographer
2021 / "Recording in Water Valley: Oxford band Teardrop City discusses their new album, plans for the future." Oxford Magazine, January/February 2021, Pages 8-9 / Writer, Photographer
2020 / "Southern Style: Making a House an Oxford Home." Oxford Magazine, November/December 2020, Pages 19-23 / Photographer
2020 / "Oxford's Moss Hunter: Artist Henry Clarke is taking an all-natural approach to his craft." Oxford Magazine, September/October 2020, Pages 3-17 / Photographer
2020 / "Historical Retreat: Take a journey back into the early 20th Century on Windy Hill Farm." Oxford Magazine, September/October 2020, Pages 19-24 / Photographer
2020 / "Telling Textiles: Coulter Fussell's quilts blur the line between art and craft." Oxford Magazine, March/April 2020, Pages 15-21 / Photographer
2020 / "East Meets West: Oxford Bonsai Society takes root, one pot at a time." Oxford Magazine, March/April 2020, Pages 42-47 / Photographer
2020 / "Delta in the Front, Hill Country in the Back: The Pharm House at Satterfield's Pottery forms the perfect background for rustic-chic brides." Oxford Magazine, February/March 2020, Pages 40-43 / Photographer
GRANTS
2021 / Mississippi Arts Commission Artist Fellowship / Media Arts
2020 / Mississippi Film & Video Alliance / Two Lives in Photography
2018 / Mississippi Film & Video Alliance / All That You Love Will Be Carried Away
2008 / Mississippi Film & Video Alliance / The 70's Song
FELLOWSHIPS
2023 / Wilson Fellowship / 60 Day Residency in Wilson, Arkansas / facilitated by the Dixon Gallery and Gardens in Memphis, Tennessee
PRESS
2023 / "Two Lives in Photography: a love story in photographs" by Paleif Rasberry, Photo by Thad Lee, Daily Mississippian, Volume 111, No. 20, March 2, 2023.
2022 / "The Murmurations of Carlyle and Thad Lee" by Scott M. Morris, Photos by Thad Lee and Ashleigh Coleman, Oxford Magazine, May 2022
2022 / "MAC Director Sarah Story Interviews Thad Lee" Mississippi Arts Hour on Mississippi Public Broadcasting / January 23, 2022
2021 / "Southside Gallery Exhibition 'Murmurations' Spotlights Collaborative Works by Carlyle Wolfe Lee and Thad Lee" The Local Voice, Issue #383, December 2-16, 2021, Page 1
2020 / "Get Carried Away at the Drive-In: Local filmmaker Thad Lee's new short film is based on a Stephen King short story and features a who's who of local VIPs" by Nature Humphries, The Local Voice, Issue #354, August 6-20, 2020, Page 1
2020 / "Interview with Thad Lee." / stephenkingshortmovies.com / December 28, 2020
2013 / "'On the Porch with T-Model Ford' by Tyler Keith and Thad Lee" by Newt Rayburn, The Local Voice, July 2013
RELATED EMPLOYMENT
2019 - 2022 / Archivist / University of Mississippi Athletic Department / Oxford, Mississippi