Samantha Lee

Writing

Samantha Lee

Samantha Lee is a Filipino filmmaker. After completing her Master of Communication, with distinction, at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT), she moved back to the Philippines to write and direct her first feature film, "Baka Bukas" (2016). It won the "Emerging Talent Award" at Outfest 2017 and the Audience Choice Award for Best Narrative at the Vancouver Queer Film Festival. It has screened in festivals in New York, San Francisco, Osaka, Melbourne, Madrid, and Hamburg. Her second film, called "Billie and Emma" (2018), won the Audience Award for Best Narrative at Inside Out 2019, the Jury Award Runner-Up for Best International Film in Out on Film Atlanta, and the Runner-Up for Audience Award for Favorite Feature at Seattle Queer Film Festival. It has been screened in over thirty film festivals internationally. Her first series, called Sleep With Me, starring Janine Gutierrez and Lovi Poe, premiered in Outfest 2022, where it won the audience award for Best Episodic. She has talked about using romantic comedies as a tool for advocating for better representation of women and the LGBTQ+ community in various publications like Vice Paper and Nylon.

Acting credits

Behind the camera

Billie & Emma poster
6.5

Billie, a teenage rock star, moves to the province and meets Emma, a model and almost the perfect example of a good daughter. Together, they go through the experience of first love.

Billie & Emma

2019

Billie & Emma poster
6.5

Billie, a teenage rock star, moves to the province and meets Emma, a model and almost the perfect example of a good daughter. Together, they go through the experience of first love.

Billie & Emma

2019

Billie & Emma poster
6.5

Billie, a teenage rock star, moves to the province and meets Emma, a model and almost the perfect example of a good daughter. Together, they go through the experience of first love.

Billie & Emma

2019

Zack Tabudlo: Episode poster
NR

A collection of OPM singer-songwriter Zack Tabudlo's most personal experiences. Those experiences are put into stories, stories put into songs, and songs brought to life through a series of fourteen music videos with different narratives about love, heartbreak, happiness, and loneliness. Collectively, these are narratives that demand the viewer to feel, to confront, and to heal.

Zack Tabudlo: Episode

2021

Waves poster
NR

A portrait of a woman surfer

Waves

2011

Rookie poster
6.5

An awkward 6-footer teen is forced to learn and play volleyball half-heartedly when the Catholic school she transferred to did not have a basketball team. Everything changes when she meets their star player.

Rookie

2023

Rookie poster
6.5

An awkward 6-footer teen is forced to learn and play volleyball half-heartedly when the Catholic school she transferred to did not have a basketball team. Everything changes when she meets their star player.

Rookie

2023

Rookie poster
6.5

An awkward 6-footer teen is forced to learn and play volleyball half-heartedly when the Catholic school she transferred to did not have a basketball team. Everything changes when she meets their star player.

Rookie

2023

All the Worlds I Could Lift poster
NR

As they redefine strength and female masculinity as acts of resistance, a group of queer women use weightlifting to reclaim bodies and spaces that have long excluded them.

All the Worlds I Could Lift

2026

Baka Bukas poster
3.8

Alex is a 23 year old gay girl based in Manila. She is out to most people except her best friend Jess who she has been secretly in love with since they were kids. When Jess discovers the truth about Alex, they are forced to confront the feelings they have for each other.

Baka Bukas

2016

Baka Bukas poster
3.8

Alex is a 23 year old gay girl based in Manila. She is out to most people except her best friend Jess who she has been secretly in love with since they were kids. When Jess discovers the truth about Alex, they are forced to confront the feelings they have for each other.

Baka Bukas

2016

Baka Bukas poster
3.8

Alex is a 23 year old gay girl based in Manila. She is out to most people except her best friend Jess who she has been secretly in love with since they were kids. When Jess discovers the truth about Alex, they are forced to confront the feelings they have for each other.

Baka Bukas

2016

How to Find Love poster
NR

A millennial society's search for post-limerence in the digital landscape.

How to Find Love

2016

Until It's Safe poster
NR

Max & Harper are in a long distance relationship that is put to test when a global pandemic hits, ruining their plans to finally be together in Los Angeles.

Until It's Safe

2020

Until It's Safe poster
NR

Max & Harper are in a long distance relationship that is put to test when a global pandemic hits, ruining their plans to finally be together in Los Angeles.

Until It's Safe

2020

Until It's Safe poster
NR

Max & Harper are in a long distance relationship that is put to test when a global pandemic hits, ruining their plans to finally be together in Los Angeles.

Until It's Safe

2020