Lee Madsen grew up as one of five boys in a career military family. Growing up with so many diverse experiences, not to mention location changes, clearly helped establish and broaden his vision as a filmmaker. By high school, Lee had already appropriated his older brother's video camera and begun making short films with his friends. What started as a hobby, eventually lead him to formally studying directing at the New York Film Academy. After school, he moved to Los Angeles and started working behind the scenes in film and television, whilst continuing his education at UCLA's film extension program.
Over the past 20 years Madsen has written and directed three feature films and a whole bunch of shorts. His feature films: "Players", "Happy In The Valley" and "Hated" have received numerous awards from film festivals around the world. All have distribution deals and can be streamed, purchased, or seen somewhere on the on cable or the internet. He's currently editing his fourth feature film, "Chicagoan."
Lee recently received an MFA degree from DePaul University (summa cum laude).
He loves teaching at DePaul University.
Research Area
Directing, Screenwriting, Cinema Production