Moua Lee

As long as you have the inspiration, the aspiration, and you have the burning passion to tell your story—and you know for sure that that’s who you are—then go for it.Moua Lee is a Hmong filmmaker, cinematographer, director, writer, and editor with more than thirty years of experience in film and video production. Inspired by movies he first encountered as a child in Laos, Lee later studied film and video production and began his professional career as a television photojournalist in Fresno, California. His first Hmong feature film, Xiong Po Ying, was filmed in Thailand, beginning a decades-long commitment to Hmong filmmaking. After moving to Minnesota in 1997, Lee worked as a television photojournalist before establishing Golden Path Entertainment Production and producing a series of independent Hmong films. Working during an era when filmmakers often handled every stage of production themselves—from writing and cinematography to directing, editing, distribution, and sales—Lee helped build a body of Hmong-produced cinema while encouraging younger filmmakers to develop their skills, pursue formal training, and take Hmong filmmaking to the next level.