Intersections with Phil Allen, Jr.        

Episode: 010 “Filmmaking Is About Truth-Telling”

Airdate: December 7, 2020

Length: 1:14:39

Guests: L. Michael Lee

Some people go under the radar in their respective fields. L. Michael Lee, for now, is one who is under the radar as a filmmaker. He is a man who is unapologetically led by his Christian faith, but also has his eyes and ears to the culture. Lee was born to be a storyteller and has not only the passion, but the skills to make films.

In this episode, Lee takes us on his journey from a high school basketball player with aspirations to play in college ball to what a teacher called, a naturally gifted filmmaker. It was as if he was born to make films and be great at it, according to this teacher.  

He reminds us of how important diversity is for the storytelling of filmmaking. It was filmmakers like the Spike Lees (no relation) and John Singletons of the industry that Lee says spoke in a language that he could understand as a young man. Could it be that it really is important to see yourself in television and film that you watch? Could it be that there are truths that can best be told through the artistry of those who come from the particular backgrounds that those stories represent? Listen to L. Michael Lee tell his story, unpack his perspective on filmmaking and its importance to the work of social justice activism, and share what it was like to shoot the Open Wounds documentary on location in Georgetown, South Carolina.  

He is the director of the documentary film Open Wounds, which debuted January 2021. You can follow him on Facebook at L. Michael Lee and on Instagram @divyzed.

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Phil Allen, Jr. is a Los Angeles-based pastor, social justice activist, filmmaker and author. Allen’s book Open Wounds explores the murder of Nate Allen—Phil Allen’s grandfather—in the Jim Crow era of South Carolina and how that traumatic event resonated through generations of his family. Open Wounds – which is based on the Allen-produced documentary of the same name – will be published February 9, 2021. Allen is a Ph.D. student studying Christian ethics at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, CA.