Cindy Lee, a South African film and commercials director, started her career in advertising, and was one of the most awarded copywriters of her time. Twenty years ago, Cindy moved to directing TV commercials and is responsible for some of South Africa's best-loved ads. Cindy soon set her eyes on directing film and wrote her first screenplay, Horn, in 2014, about rhino poaching, that won at the New York Picture Start Film Festival. In 2017, she was nominated for a SAFTA (South African Film and Television Award) for her television directing debut for the drama series Sober Companion. In 2018, she directed three episodes of The Girl from St. Agnes, the first locally produced drama for South African streamer Showmax, followed by her first solo series, Desert Rose, for M-net, Africa's primary pay-to-air television channel. Cindy was nominated for a SAFTA 2023 in the Best Achievement in Directing category for Desert Rose. In 2023, Cindy was lead director on the comedy-drama The Morning After for Amazon Prime South Africa: the series was nominated for Best Direction at the Venice TV Awards 2024 and has been selected for screening at the Berlin International Film Festival 2025. Cindy directed The Last Ranger, nominated for the Best Live Action Short Film Award at the 97th Academy Awards.