CESCA LEE is a Filipina cinematographer based in Manila.

Though she currently resides in the Philippines, she’s accomplished projects abroad in Busan, Taipei, and Kyoto.

After graduating as Magna Cum Laude with a degree in AB Communications and Broadcast Journalism, she began learning the ropes of filmmaking within bustling film sets and shoots.

Her role started as a production assistant and worked her way up by collaborating with several of the best cinematographers of her country: Lee Briones, Carlo Mendoza, Neil Daza, and Larry Manda to name a few.

In 2016, she worked as a cinematographer for her first feature: T.P.O. Temporary Protection Order, a film that focused women’s rights against domestic abuse. That same year, she received her first nomination for Best Cinematography at the ASEAN International Film Festival and Awards for the film Purgatoryo.

Since then, she’s succeeded a number of films, both mainstream and independently produced —which were entered within local and international festivals.

By 2018, she was accepted as a cinematography fellow in the Asian Film Academy (AFA) in Busan under the Busan International Film Festival.

In 2019, she participated as a cinematographer at the Kyoto Filmmaker’s Lab (2019) which was co-hosted by Tokyo International Film Festival.

Cesca is a pioneer member of the Philippine’s Cinematographer’s guild LUPON NG PILIPINONG SINEMATOGRAPO.

“In AFA, we were called the ‘Future of Asian Cinema’ and then I guess I took it to heart. I want to be that. I want to be the future of Asian Cinema.” - Cesca Lee

For Cesca’s filmography, click here.