Rees has also written and directed episodes for television series including Empire, When We Rise, and Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams.

[8] Dee Rees went on to work under Spike Lee on his films Inside Man (2006) and When the Levees Broke (2006).

The film follows her American-born, 80-year-old grandmother, Amma, as she returns to Monrovia, Liberia to rebuild her home and community.

debut Pariah, writer-director Dee Rees demonstrates, with simplicity and verve, that there's no substitute for authenticity".

[14] Both forms provide a different take on the lived experiences of young Black lesbian women in a way that gives the characters depth and power.

Both stories of identity, they are not only diversifying the characters audiences enjoy in media, but also providing an authentic expression of these lives.

Together with Virgil Williams, Rees wrote Mudbound, a period drama adapted from the 2008 novel of the same name by Hillary Jordan.

[8] This work contains many personal connections for Rees, such as her grandfather's experiences in the army and her grandmother's aspiration to be a stenographer.

She used written text from the journal, a war ration book, and a photograph of her great grandmother, and each one was an inspiration for something in Mudbound.

[28] Rees directed The Last Thing He Wanted, based upon the novel of the same name by Joan Didion, which stars Anne Hathaway and Willem Dafoe.

[6] Rees is currently set to write and direct MGM's feature film adaptation of George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess.

[33] In 2019, Rees began work as writer and director for her upcoming film, The Kyd's Exquisite Follies.

[34] Rees is working alongside producer Cassian Elwes,[34] with singer-songwriter Santigold[34] set to compose.

[7] Rees also cites her own life experiences in the protagonist of her newest project, The Kyd's Exquisite Follies.

[7] As a Black lesbian filmmaker, Rees's intersectional identity is a huge part of her and is also unique in Hollywood.

[1] Rees also described the protagonist of her latest project, The Kyd's Exquisite Follies as androgynous,[7] again connecting her own experience of sexuality to her filmmaking.

Still early in her career, Rees has shown a large array of stylistic choices in her films in her exploration for her identity as a filmmaker.

However, Rees has been said to spend hours on shots that end up only being a few seconds, focusing intently on visual details.

[7] Spike Lee was Rees's mentor throughout her time at NYU Tisch, and the two worked on films together such as Inside Man (2006) and When The Levees Broke (2006).