Author's Biography:
Born and raised in California, Taylor Sanghyun Lee is an NYC-based filmmaker whose work spans writing, directing, and cinematography. Before turning to film, he worked as an IT technician, summer camp counselor, and software engineer. Taylor is currently in development for his debut feature, ROUNDS, which was selected for the 2026 Sundance Screenwriters Lab and the 2025 TIFF & CJ K-Story Fund. He earned his MFA in Directing from NYU Tisch Graduate Film, where he was awarded the Ang Lee Scholarship. His short film LAYOVER is streaming as a Vimeo Staff Pick, and his upcoming short PARKSIDE EAST is the recipient of the Spike Lee Production Grant. As a cinematographer, he has shot dozens of short films that have screened at festivals worldwide, and he recently wrapped principal photography on NURTURE, the debut feature from the Stark Brothers. He is the recipient of the ARRI Volker Bahnemann Award for Outstanding Cinematography, the Sundance Ignite Fellowship, and the Gotham Marcie Bloom Fellowship.
Script Synopsis:
Years after a violent shooting shattered their Presbyterian church community, an impending deportation forces two Korean-American families to confront the limits of their forgiveness.
Director's STATEMENT:
I am an atheist son of a Baptist pastor, a software engineer turned filmmaker, a Sacramento nerd now transplanted to Bushwick. My adult life has been shaped by transitions: at 19, I walked away from the faith that once defined my childhood, fracturing my family’s trust. At 24, I quit an engineering career to pursue filmmaking. These leaps inform the stories I tell—about characters caught between worlds, identities, and paths, much like I have been. "Rounds" follows two Korean-American families—the Lees and the Kims—as they struggle to forgive one another in the aftermath of a gang-related act of violence. The film is set within the Korean-American church community, a world I know intimately and one that deeply shapes my work. Through this setting, I aim to explore what it means to seek forgiveness—from the government, from those you’ve wronged, and from yourself—while examining how the ideals of modern-day Christianity clash with human imperfection. These questions are never simple. They unfold in ways that are tangled and uncertain, shaped as much by doubt, resentment, and suffering as they are by faith.
PRODUCTION INFO 2026
“Rounds” was selected for the 2026 Sundance Screenwriters Lab and was the winner of the 2025 CJ & TIFF K-Story Fund.
Agents:
Craig Kestel, CKestel@wmeagency.com
Marco Alvarez, MAlvarez@wmeagency.com