歡迎。Nau mai, haere mai. Welcome.
Photo by Jen Stevie
Kia ora, 大家好, greetings.
When I was thirty, I almost died in the Himalayas.
It was the driest month before the monsoon season. Four of us had taken a wrong turn down a mountain ravine. In desperation for a way out, I tried to descend a cliff face, slipped, and caught a tree root - the only thing between me and multi-metre fall that would have broken at least my legs. The next morning, my friends and I found water dripping in a gully that brought us back to life from dehydration. We climbed back to the route, and were fed by a Nepali father and his son by the banks of a set of sacred lakes who cooked hot dinner and offered us a corner of their stone hut to rest of tired bodies while a light snow fell outside overnight.
In those two nights, I made a promise.
That I still had much more to give.
That I would show up for life fully with whatever time I have left.
Ten years later, here I am. Rooted in Ōtautahi Christchurch, Aotearoa New Zealand.
More ready than ever to show up and step in.
Photo by Erica Austin
I'm Kai J. Lee 李曉敦, storyteller, facilitator, and community weaver.
Hong Kong-born, California-raised, Latin America and Himalaya-influenced. In the past seventeen years, I’ve had the grand opportunity to work, volunteer, and experience life across Panamá, Turtle Island (North America), Nepal, India, Thailand, Australia, Ecuador, and Aotearoa New Zealand, always in pursuit of the same thing: the human truths and joys beneath why we do what we do.
Through Subtledream Productions, I partner with purpose-driven organisations to create visual stories and narratives that honours context and moves people toward unity, collaboration, and action. I also teach and facilitate - sharing the same technical and emotional tools that have carried me across the majority of my adult life in cross-cultural storytelling with others ready to tell their own truths.
Beyond the productions: I host the Wilderness Within Podcast, write Letters at Dawn (new!), and hold space with fellow tāne (men) doing honest inner work in Ōtautahi Christchurch, where I currently reside.
If you're looking for a storytelling partner - let's kōrero (talk).
If you found your way here through substack, my podcast, or a face-to-face conversation -
歡迎。Nau mai, haere mai. Welcome. Take a look around.
If you're not sure how you landed here but something told you to stay - trust that. 🙃
Ngā mihi nui, 多謝你, thank you for being here.
Kai J. Lee 李曉敦
Who am I, in six minutes.
This is my personal statement video, decades in the making.
It speaks into my values and who I wish to attract to collaborate with.
Backstory & The Now
My relationship with photography began at 13, when a simple camera became a bridge between technology, beauty, and memory. What started as curiosity grew into a calling: noticing patterns, weaving people and ideas together, helping stories turn into action. Over time I've learned that storytelling is as much about unlearning as it is about growing into who you are becoming.
I carry Cantonese whakapapa (ancestry) and lived experience shaped across Asia, the Americas, and Aotearoa New Zealand. My mahi (work) has taken me from earthquake recovery in mountainous Nepal to land regeneration in coastal Ecuador, from intimate weddings in Tuscany and Sikkim to documenting food resilience in the community gardens of Aotearoa. Whatever the kaupapa (purpose), I bring deep listening, creative craft, and clarity to celebrate uplifting stories and help visions be seen, felt, and shared with integrity.
In recent years I've stepped into teaching and facilitation alongside the documentation - sharing the technical and emotional tools of storytelling with others ready to bring their own stories to life.
Outside the studio, I'm an outdoor lover, permaculture-minded systems thinker, cyclist, and participant in men's groups rooted in honest inner work. I am a partner to my love, Jen. My communities, best mates, and personal practices keep me grounded to myself and the whenua (land) so I can show up fully for life and my commitments.
Why People Choose to Work with Me
Seeing with depth. I notice the sometimes unspoken connections between people, place, and purpose - and translate them into grounded, resonant stories.
Weaving with intention. Each project is shaped in relationship with its kaupapa (purpose) and community, so the work feels sincere and non-hierarchical rather than imposed.
Catalysing with care. Documentation is only the start - it supports momentum, trust, and the next chapter of a project's life or deepening of relationships.
Sustainability and integrity. Guided by permaculture, systems thinking, and Tangata Tiriti values, I work with organisations that mean what they say, and strive for harmony and regeneration.
Artistry and professionalism. 17+ years of global storytelling, technically savvy, reliable and meeting you at the level of shared humanity.
And always - full resolution files - because your stories belong to you.
“Kai is a great videographer and photographer! Kai did a fantastic job with the interview session we had for The Human CV. He made the whole process seems effortless and was very supportive along the way. I highly recommend Kai for your future media production needs.”
Photo by Jonny Knopp
Recorded talks and interviews:
Ōtautahi in Practice podcast @ Plains Media 96.9 FM
The Human CV “Storyteller, Systems Thinker, Bridge-Builder“
Garage Grown Gear interview
The Altruistic Traveler “How Visual Storytelling Creates Connection & Community”
Sprocket Podcast “[Kai]’s Lens“
Seeds: Talking Purpose “Photography as Art“
PechaKucha Christchurch “Finding Purpose Through Travel, Service, and Photography“
Upstream Daily interview @ Social Enterprise World Forum
“Kai was amazing. He creates a fantastically comfortable space for you to be your best self. His passion for the work he does shines so strongly. To make such excellent work look effortless is a true skill. Truly a wonderful professional.”
“Kai delivers beautiful and impactful storytelling work. His care and motivation shine through, whilst his personal approach makes him a wonderful person to work with. Kai’s passion for supporting projects with a for-purpose mission is equally complemented by his creativity in telling their story.”
Photo by Jen Stevie
“Cannot highlight enough how Kai’s visual work is transformational, clear, honest, and stunning! Truly a holistic storyteller and adept at waiting for the right moments to engage in beautiful relationship building with clients, coworkers, and the more-than-human. I feel privileged to have been able to work alongside Kai during a video project that involved tons of changing logistics and language dynamics to navigate and then again to see him in his stride and ease while documenting a wedding on the Oregon coast. He is a wonderful teacher at so many levels.”
“I LOVE these photos taken by Kai J. Lee at a Stories for Impact workshop in New Zealand, delivered by Erica Austin & Kai. I keep scrolling back through them and smiling to myself!
They capture so much of what I hoped for when I first started sharing Digital Storytellers’ Stories for Impact workshops in Aotearoa back in 2018.
That vision was to see the Stories for Impact workshops take on a life of their own, delivered to incredible community leaders who I might never meet, infused with the wisdom of local facilitators and adapted to fit the needs of the community in the room.
In this case, the workshop was for a community of Systems Change Practitioners who are tapping into story to listen to community, surface shared narratives and use video share what impact looks like in action.”
Let’s Work Together
