Michael Lees
Public Relations Officer (PRO)
Film, Photography
(767) 276-5313
Michael Lees is a Dominican filmmaker and photographer whose work explores themes of connection - connection to nature, connection through time, connection between people and different studies of interest - in a search for the unified “whole”.
Michael attended UNC Chapel Hill, where he spent the first half of his college career studying business at the Kenan-Flagler Business School, later switching his major from business to communication studies with a focus in media production.
In 2020, Michael released his debut documentary, Uncivilized, which led him into the forests of Dominica, where he would face Hurricane Maria alone in a palm leaf and bamboo hut. The film premiered at TTFF 2019 and went on to screen at festivals including the Brooklyn Film Festival and The Pan-African Film Festival in LA. It won the Caribbean Spirit award in 2020 at the Barbados Independent Film Festival.
Lees has written, shot, and edited for clients ranging from Billboard to UNICEF. He has exhibited his photography work at national exhibitions and was recently featured in the OECS exhibition Climate Change: An Eastern Caribbean Journey, and one of his images used for the official flyer Michael is a proud member of the Waitukubuli Artist Association.
Artist Statement
Michael Lees (b. 1992) is a first generation Dominican (Commonwealth of) from mixed Bajan and British parentage. Growing up between countries and cultures, Michael became highly aware of the differences between the so-called “developed" and “developing world,” and that tension became an anchoring point for his work. In both his documentaries and photographs, he calls on viewers to reconsider their relationship to the natural world and its consequences.
His debut documentary Uncivilized, released in 2020, led him to face Hurricane Maria alone in a bamboo hut in the forest, winning the Caribbean Spirit award at the Barbados Independent Film Festival, as well as best documentary at the Cinestar Festival in Guadeloupe in 2022. His photography has been exhibited at regional exhibitions including CAFA 2023, & the OECS-held exhibition, Climate Change: An Eastern Caribbean Journey and belongs in personal collections.