Spike Lee

Directing·Mar 20, 1957·Atlanta, Georgia, USA

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Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American filmmaker and actor. His work has continually explored race relations, issues within the black community, the role of media in contemporary life, urban crime and poverty, and other political issues. Lee received numerous accolades for his work, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards, and two Peabody Awards as well as nominations for three Golden Globe Awards and a Grammy Award. Lee studied filmmaking at both Morehouse College and the New York University Tisch School of the Arts, where he directed his student film Joe's Bed-Stuy Barbershop: We Cut Heads (1983), which won a Student Academy Award. He later founded the production company 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, where he has produced more than 35 films. He made his directorial debut with the comedy She's Gotta Have It (1986). He received widespread critical acclaim for the drama Do the Right Thing (1989), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. He directed the historical epic Malcolm X (1992), earning the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival. With the biographical crime dramedy BlacKkKlansman (2018), he won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and the Cannes Film Festival Grand Prix Award. He has also written and directed films such as School Daze (1988), Mo' Better Blues (1990), Jungle Fever (1991), Crooklyn (1994), Clockers (1995), Bamboozled (2000), 25th Hour (2002), Inside Man (2006), Chi-Raq (2015), Da 5 Bloods (2020), and Highest 2 Lowest (2025). Lee has also acted in eleven of his feature films. He is also known for directing numerous documentary projects, including 4 Little Girls (1997), which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film. He directed the HBO series When the Levees Broke (2006), which won two Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Directing for a Documentary/Nonfiction Program and Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking. He also directed the HBO documentary If God Is Willing and da Creek Don't Rise (2010) and the David Byrne concert film American Utopia (2020). Lee has received several honours, including the Honorary BAFTA Award in 2002, an Honorary César in 2003, the Academy Honorary Award in 2015, and the National Medal of Arts in 2023. Five of his films have been selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". He has received a Gala Tribute from the Film Society of Lincoln Center as well as the Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize. His films have featured breakthrough performances from actors such as Denzel Washington, Laurence Fishburne, Samuel L. Jackson, Giancarlo Esposito, Rosie Perez, Delroy Lindo, John Turturro, and John David Washington. Description above from the Wikipedia article Spike Lee, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Film	Credit
AAPART2026 · Writer	Writer
AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute to Eddie Murphy2026 · Self	Self
Highest 2 Lowest2025 · Director	Director
Ladies & Gentlemen... 50 Years of SNL Music2025 · Self (archive footage)	Self (archive footage)
Samuel L. Jackson: Did I Stutter?2023 · self	self
The Moviemakers: Spike Lee2023 · Self	Self
Denzel Washington: A Model American2022 · Self	Self
Gold Blooded2022 · Self	Self
Sidney2022 · Self	Self
A Daughter's Tribute to Her Father: Souleymane Cissé2022 · Self	Self
A Choice of Weapons: Inspired by Gordon Parks2021 · Self	Self
Chadwick Boseman: Portrait of an Artist2021 · Self	Self
David Byrne's American Utopia2020 · Director, Producer	Director, Producer
Da 5 Bloods2020 · Writer, Producer, Director	Writer, Producer, Director
3 Brothers: Radio Raheem, Eric Garner and George Floyd2020 · Director	Director
New York New York2020 · Director	Director
See You Yesterday2019 · Producer	Producer
Land of the Free2019 · Director	Director
Amazing Grace2018 · Producer	Producer
Breslin and Hamill: Deadline Artists2018 · Self	Self
BlacKkKlansman2018 · Writer, Director, Producer	Writer, Director, Producer
Unbanned: The Legend of AJ12018 · Self	Self
Pass Over2018 · Producer, Director	Producer, Director
Plankton Salesmen2017 · Self (archive footage)	Self (archive footage)
Rodney King2017 · Director, Producer	Director, Producer
Be Truly Free2017 · Narrator (voice), Director	Narrator (voice), Director
Birth of a Movement2017 · Self	Self
2 Fists Up2016 · Director, Producer	Director, Producer
Michael Jackson's Journey from Motown to Off the Wall2016 · Self, Director	Self, Director
Chi-Raq2015 · Director, Writer, Producer	Director, Writer, Producer
NBA 2K16’s Livin’ Da Dream: A Spike Lee Joint2015 · Reporter (voice), Director	Reporter (voice), Director
Spike Lee's Lil' Joints: The Greatest Catch Ever2015 · self, Director	self, Director
French Cinema Mon Amour2015 · Self	Self
DDirector Spike Lee's New York City2015 · Self	Self
Champs2015 · Self	Self
Da Sweet Blood of Jesus2015 · Screenplay, Producer, Director	Screenplay, Producer, Director
Ray Allen/AKA- Jesus Shuttlesworth2015 · Actor, Director	Actor, Director
TThrow Like A Girl2014 · Director	Director
Jerrod Carmichael: Love at the Store2014 · Director	Director
Do The Right Thing 25 Year Anniversary A Beats Music Experience2014 · self, Director	self, Director
Katt Williams: Priceless: Afterlife2014 · Director, Producer	Director, Producer
Life's Essentials with Ruby Dee2014 · Self	Self
AAmex Unstaged Pharrell Williams Live at the Apollo2014 · Director	Director
We the People: From Crispus Attucks to President Barack Obama2014 · Actor	Actor
II Can't Breathe2014 · Director, Writer	Director, Writer
Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth2013 · Director	Director
Oldboy2013 · Director	Director
Bad 252012 · Self, Director	Self, Director