Curtis Lee is a Sydney based filmmaker that focuses predominantly on queer storytelling.
Having spent the last two years developing the pilot episode for his new web series ‘Committed’, Curtis also works as an associate producer in television.
Curtis writes, directs, acts, edits and has just recently started his own production company – FamiLee Productions (My mum loves the name)
Director Statement
I came up with the idea of Yesterday, My Dead Boyfriend Messaged Me on Grindr (YMDB) after a breakup that I didn’t take very well…as are a lot of the scripts that I write.
I’m curiously engaged with thoughts of what happens after someone leaves and the memory that we’re left with. This film leans into the distortion of events and how social media can have a large impact on how we view the world around us. This film deals with grief, loneliness, emptiness, love and all the negative space around that….it’s really upbeat.
I wanted (YMDB) to represent how it feels when you’re trying to move on but are haunted by the ghost of someone that isn’t around anymore. Using the notion of cat-fishing as an element of that it allowed us to lean into a narrative that also opened up the doors of exploration to how people can be abusive online and what a receptor of that might feel in their weakest moments.
I worked alongside my favourite key creatives to make this and with only a budget of $300, I couldn’t be more proud of it.
I hope you like it x
– Curtis
LGBTQ+ Toronto Film Festival 