Lesley Steele

Lesley Steele is a writer, director + editor of short & long-form video & documentary film. Originally a New York City native, she was chosen to participate in Sundance’s Art of Editing Fellowship in 2020, and selected to appear in DOC NYC’s “40 under 40” filmmakers in 2020. Steele’s spark in experimental 16mm cinematography & analog editing is a driving force in her work, both non-fiction & fiction.

Steele’s latest doc — By Way of Canarsie, was produced in 2019 in her fellowship CoLAB with UnionDocs, and is currently on the festival circuit. The film premiered at BlackStar Film Festival, Better Cities, DOC NYC’s 2020 Virtual Film Festival and invited to screen in BAM’s 2020 Fall Virtual Series “Programmers Notebook: New York Lives.”

Lesley is currently producing her first investigative feature doc about the state of mental health and its intersection with race and the carceral system in the United States.

Her previous clients include MTV, Nickelodeon, Spotify, TED, Buzzfeed, HBO, SnapChat, NowThis and others.
She writes, directs and produces various forms of video for emerging platforms. Heavily inspired by Avant Garde filmmaking and experimental filmmakers, Lesley explores combining mediums and creating new meaning through exploration of form. A devoted vintage camera collector, Lesley shoots 16mm, Super8mm and other analog and digital formats.

Currently a Shooter/Editor at Genius, Lesley creates daily music news videos for the Genius site and social platforms. Previously she worked as a Digital Designer at MTV & Nickelodeon, Buzzfeed and HBO.

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Lesley Steele

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