Francis Lee

Francis Lee (born 1969) is an English filmmaker known for his debut feature film, God's Own Country, which won the World Cinema Directing Award at the 2017 Sundance Film, and subsequent film, Ammonite (2020).

Life and career Francis Lee grew up on his family's farm in Soyland, Calderdale, West Yorkshire. After finishing school, he studied acting at the Rose Bruford College and worked in the theatre afterwards. Lee first appeared on television in 1994 in Peak Practice, which was followed by guest roles in television series like Midsomer Murders, Heartbeat and Casualty. In cinema, he had small roles in Mike Leigh's Topsy-Turvy (1999) and in Sandra Goldbacher's Me Without You (2001).

Although working as a director today, he never trained at a film school.

He had his breakthrough with the 2017 film God's Own Country, which received critical acclaim. He won prizes at the Sundance Film Festival and the Teddy Awards, the Breakthrough director award at the London Film Critics' Circle and the BAFTA Award for Best Debut Screenwriter.

Lee directed Ammonite, which was released in September 2020 and stars Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan as 19th century British palaeontologist Mary Anning and geologist Charlotte Murchison. The film centres on a speculative romantic relationship between the two.

In 2021 he stated that he's working on an upcoming horror film that explores themes of "class and queerness".

He divides his time between Yorkshire and London.

Filmography