Vick Lee – Inspirational Chicago Filmmaker

Vick Lee is a Chicago-based filmmaker whose social justice-oriented shorts tell of the Black experience in America. For her, filmmaking is a form of activism, a medium through which she can portray the realities of both Black struggles and Black love: “I want to see me on film,” she explains to Your Everyday Heroes.

Since childhood, Lee was immersed in the arts. “My family and I would have talent shows, do dance skits, little plays, and things like that,” she tells us.

Her budding interests would finally blossom when she attended Columbia College Chicago. Suddenly among a diverse community of filmmakers and other artists, Lee worked fervently to earn her place as one of today’s many great Black female film directors.

Chicago-based filmmaker

Lee’s passion for Black representation has won her considerable esteem within her community, her film “Look What You’ve Done”—which touches upon issues of police abuse—winning awards at the 2021 Founder’s Choice of Strong Chance Film Festival, 2020 Black Truth Film Festival, and the 2019 Founder’s Choice of Cane River Film Festival. Additionally, her romantic drama “The Polyamorist” was an official selection at the 2018 Black Harvest Film Festival, and her latest short, 2020’s “The Inbox Interviews,” was an official selection at a number of film festivals, including the South Side Chicago Film Festival.

Making movies is something that Lee must do in order to release the tales that have been brewing in her mind. “I couldn’t get away from the movie. It simply kept beckoning to me, she claims. She makes movies to satisfy her artistic hunger, but not just for herself. I enjoy what I’m doing, so I’m doing it. But even when I’m doing it, I’m aware that there are obstacles to overcome.

Lee wants to dispel the myth that filmmaking is just for the affluent, preconceptions that are deeply engrained in the film industry. She sees movies as more than just entertainment, and she uses her work to break down boundaries and bring about change not just in the movie industry but in other areas as well.

Lee has used her artistic gifts to sculpt an incredible life and legacy. However, what happens when such an idyllic life–which one has worked tirelessly to achieve–is threatened by forces outside of one’s control? Unfortunately, she has been faced with this very predicament.

Lee’s Cancer Diagnosis

Lee received a stage 4 lung cancer diagnosis in November of 2020. A cancer that has metastasized (spread) from the lungs to other parts of the body is referred to as stage 4, or late-stage lung cancer. Dyspnea (shortness of breath), coughing up blood, and chest pain are among the more serious symptoms. However, the fact that just three to seven percent of patients with late-stage lung cancer survive for five years is what is most concerning.

Although there is currently no cure for lung cancer, there are therapeutic options available, including chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and targeted therapy, which uses less harmful medications to target chemicals involved in the growth/spread of cancer cells. Treatment effectiveness varies from patient to patient, and more

Vick Lee Has No Plans to Stop

Despite being thrust into a position in which many would simply throw in the towel, Vick Lee persists. In fact, in 2021 she became a cohort of the Digital Storytelling Initiative’s Production Institute, a program of the Digital Storytelling Initiative at the Logan Center for the Arts. According to the DSI’s website, the program “makes high-quality digital production training accessible to emerging media makers from South Side communities” and “addresses the lack of affordable, intensive courses available to South Side filmmakers and media artists…”

As a cohort, Lee will expand upon her skills as a filmmaker. Clearly, she does not allow her diagnosis to hinder her plans for the future. She is also currently working on a new project, the details of which have not been publicly disclosed.

“I want people to be inspired to keep going,” she tells us. “You can get faced with some devastating, life-changing news, but you can push through it and still do what you want to do. You can still follow your passions.”

Black Female Directors

Vick Lee is one of the many Chicago filmmakers that complete projects locally, but she is one of the few Black female directors that hails from the area.

Among the elite group of Black female directors is Angela Robinson, who became the third black woman in history to direct a movie produced by a major film studio, when she helmed the 2005 Lindsay Lohan starter, “Herbie: Fully Loaded” for Disney in 2005. She went on to direct and produce Showtime smash hit “The L Word” and HBO’s “True Blood,” along with the feature film “Professor Marston & the Wonder Women” in 2017.

Salli Richardson-Whitfield, star of Chicago, might have got her start in front of the camera, but she has become one since taking on two episodes of “Queen Sugar” in 2016. Richardson-Whitfield has directing credits on “Scandal,” “Black-ish,” “The Magicians,” “Dear White People,” “Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty,” and a show based on her hometown, “The Chi.”

The creator of “The Chi,” executive producer and director Lena Waithe, who has written huge Hollywood hits “Bones,” “Boomerang,” “Master of None,” and feature film “Queen & Slim,” is one of the most successful Chicago filmmakers that produces work locally.

Mega-producer Shonda Rhimes, who created ABC mainstay “Grey’s Anatomy,” along with popular must see shows “Scandal,” “How To Get Away With Murder,” and Grey’s spinoff “Station 19,” also hails from Chicago.

Here most recent venture 18th century period romance “Bridgerton,” has become one of Netflix’s top shows. And has spurned a spinoff series that will focus on the the early years of Queen Charlotte, played by Golda Rosheuvel.

Conclusion

Unfortunately, stage 4 lung cancer stories are not as rare as one would think.

The American Lung Association says that 541,000 Americans have been diagnosed with lung cancer at some point in their lives.

And according to Verywell Health, “Nearly 40% of people who learn they have lung cancer are already at stage 4 of the disease when they’re newly diagnosed.”

While her situation is not uncommon, Lee’s unwavering efforts to continue creating and inspiring make her an everyday hero. For her, a cancer diagnosis is merely a footnote in an ever-evolving artistic legacy.

Her steadfast optimism has proven to be the recipe for a fulfilling life, no matter her circumstances.

Your Everyday Heroes has been proud to bring you one of our favorite inspirational cancer stories, and we hope that it has helped