Albert Lee (born 24 September 1953), whose family came from Xinhui, Guangdong, grew up in Hong Kong. His father, Lee Ping-cheung, worked in the publicity departments of cinemas including the Lee Theatre and founded Imperial Pictures in the 1960s, which distributed British films. After secondary school Lee studied economics at the University of Wales, working meanwhile in the publicity department of EMI in London; he graduated in 1975 and returned to Hong Kong, where he was a reporter for The Star and also worked for the Associated Press. In 1979 he joined Golden Communications Company Limited, a subsidiary of Golden Harvest, taking charge of the group's overseas distribution and opening many new markets; the first film he distributed was Knockabout (1979). In the 1990s he became executive vice-president of Golden Communications, and in 1994, when Golden Harvest Entertainment went public on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, he served as an executive director and as general manager of the unlisted Golden Harvest. He left the company in 2000 for Rock Records & Tapes in Taiwan, and in 2003 became chief executive officer of Emperor Motion Pictures, overseeing the production and distribution of films and television programmes and encouraging Hong Kong–Mainland co-productions. Executive-producer credits include The Twins Effect II (2004), Beast Stalker (2008), Aftershock (2010), Shaolin (2011), If You Are the One II (2011) and Ip Man Final Fight (2013). In November 2018 he became executive director of the Hong Kong International Film Festival Society, which runs the city's foremost international film festival.
At Golden Harvest, Albert Lee handled overseas distribution and opened new markets for Hong Kong films; as chief executive of Emperor Motion Pictures he produced co-productions such as Beast Stalker and Aftershock, driving Hong Kong–Mainland film cooperation in the 2000s. In 2018 he became executive director of the Hong Kong International Film Festival Society.
Achievements
- 1979 · Joined Golden Communications to handle Golden Harvest's overseas distribution, first distributing Knockabout.
- 2003 · Became chief executive officer of Emperor Motion Pictures.
- 2018 · Became executive director of the Hong Kong International Film Festival Society.