Rare is that moment in life when everything comes together for a filmmaker; when all the hard work, passion and persistence is recognized on a number of levels. But this is exactly what has been happening to Boston-based filmmaker Ellie Lee.

In late March, Ellie was informed that she had been selected for the 2004 Rockefeller/Foundation Media Arts Fellowship for Emerging Artists. She was nominated for the fellowship by Candelaria Silva, Founder of the Roxbury Film Festival and Director of ACT (Arts, Culture & Trade) Roxbury.

According to Candelaria, "The Fellowship Program seeks promising, emerging filmmakers-artists with interesting vision, whose work isn't so mainstream. Ellie was one of my three choices because she is a great storyteller and film crafter. Her films really draw you in."

Ellie credits ACT, as well as other Roxbury-based organizations such as FilmShack, for giving her the chance to screen her short films over the years and for fostering her early development as a filmmaker.

She explains, "The Rockefeller Fellowship will concretely help me develop my feature film. But without ACT and the Roxbury Film Festival, this step for me would not have been possible."

Every year, the Media Arts Fellowships are given out to visionary artists working in film, video and digital technology. The goal is support the creation of new works that bring innovation to the media arts.

"The Media Arts program makes a concerted effort to find talented artists all over the country who need financial assistance in order to bring their projects to life," Ellie explains. "The committee doesn't look for any particular genre. In fact, I have two good friends who've also received the fellowship. One creates live action movies using puppets; the other is an experimental animator who defies category. Then there are recipients such as Kenneth Anger, who has been respected for his work in gay cinema since the '60s."

As one of the 14 people selected for the Fellowship, Ellie will receive a $35,000 grant that she will use to develop her narrative feature film, The Road Home. First on her agenda will be to hire a location scout (the film will be set in both Boston and China), to work with a casting agency, and to attach talent to the project.

Until now, Ellie has been recognized primarily for her short film and documentary work. The Road Home will mark her debut into feature-length narrative filmmaking. The story focuses on the strained relationship between a Chinese-American daughter and her immigrant father.

"When the father is diagnosed with Alzheimer's, he tells his daughter that he wants to return home to Southern China. You could say it's kind of a road movie," says Ellie.

But Ellie's recent swell of success doesn't end there. In fact, to use her word, she has been experiencing a "convergence" of positive events over the past few months. After learning she had won the Media Arts Fellowship, she also found out that she had been accepted into the Tribeca Film Festival's "All Access" program. Similar to the IFP Market's "No Borders" section, the program gives U.S.-based minority filmmakers the chance to connect directly with industry decision-makers and generate interest in their screenplays/film projects. Out of 350 submissions, only 24 filmmakers were selected for the program. Ellie was chosen for her script The Road Home.

As of this interview, Ellie was busy going from meeting to meeting at the Tribeca Festival, which ran from May 1st through 9th. According to Ellie, "I am so thankful for this opportunity; it's just amazing. For one week, I have the chance to attend meetings with Heads of Development from major production companies and to meet face-to-face with talent agents and managers. This experience is definitely going to open a lot of doors for me."

Besides providing emerging directors with invaluable networking opportunities, festival organizers also create a promotional package for each participant. The custom "docier" is then distributed to virtually every production company in Los Angeles before the Festival. This gives industry professionals the chance to review the information in advance and decide which directors they want to meet.

Although Ellie is just breaking into the feature-length narrative film world, she has been making award-winning short films and documentaries for over 10 years. She credits her first short, REPETITION COMPULSION, as the film that helped her break through.

"It is a 6-minute animated documentary about homeless and battered women," Ellie explains. She came up with the idea for the film while she was a senior at Harvard and also serving as director of two homeless shelters.

"I was very passionate about the subject matter. In fact, if I had to give advice to an emerging filmmaker, I would say, 'Find a subject matter that you're passionate about and make a short film.'"

This philosophy certainly paid off for Ellie, who received a Best Short nomination by the 1998 Documentary Association and a 1998 National Emmy Award. REPETITION COMPULSION also premiered at the Berlin Film Festival and was aired on PBS's P.O.V, which is considered one of the most important venues for independent filmmakers. The film, along with her follow-up fiction short, the apocalyptic DOG DAYS, can currently be seen on the Independent Film Channel.