The Hamilton College Voices of Color Lecture Series presents “An Evening with Spike Lee,” award-winning film director, producer and actor, on Wednesday, April 13, at 8:30 p.m., in Wellin Hall. Admission is free for members of the Hamilton community but tickets will be required. Tickets will be available at Beinecke Village the week of April 4 and at the Wellin Hall box office the day of the lecture.
The lecture has been rescheduled from April 4.
Tickets for the general public are $5. To reserve tickets call the box office at 315-859-4331. The box office will open at 7 p.m. on April 4 for will-call.
Spike Lee is thought by many to have revolutionized both the landscape of independent cinema and the role of black talent in film. His debut film, the comedy She’s Gotta Have It, earned him the Prix de Jeunesse Award at the Cannes Film festival in 1986 and set him at the forefront of the black new wave in American cinema. His other films include School Daze; Jungle Fever, Mo’ Better Blues, Clockers and Crooklyn; and Do the Right Thing, which garnered an Academy Award® nomination for best original screenplay, and best film and director awards from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association.. His epic drama Malcolm X, starring Denzel Washington, received two Academy Award® nominations.
Lee’s latest film was the HBO documentary sequel If God’s Willing and Da Creek Don’t Rise, which continues the story of the rebirth of the Big Easy begun in Lee’s epic Emmy and Peabody-winning 2006 documentary When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts.
An avid sports enthusiast, Lee also produced Kobe – Doin Work, a documentary on Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers. Another recent project, Passing Strange, explores the travels of a young African American musician in search of himself.
Born in Atlanta, Ga., and raised in Brooklyn, Lee returned to the South to attend Morehouse College. He continued his education at New York University’s Tisch School of Arts in Manhattan, where he received his Master of Fine Arts in film production. He founded 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, based in the Fort Greene section of Brooklyn, where he has resided since childhood.
In addition to his film achievements, Lee has produced and directed numerous music videos for artists including Chaka Khan, Tracy Chapman, Anita Baker, Public Enemy, Bruce Hornsby and Michael Jackson.
Lee’s commercial work began in 1988 with his Nike Air Jordan campaign. Collaborating with basketball great Michael Jordan on several commercials, Lee resurrected his popular character, Mars Blackmon from She’s Gotta Have It. Lee is also well known for his Levi’s Button-Fly 501, AT&T and ESPN television commercials. His other commercial ventures include TV spots for Philips, Nike, American Express, Snapple and Taco Bell.
Lee also produces documentaries and sports programs. He completed the Emmy- and Oscar®-nominated documentary 4 Little Girls for HBO and received an Emmy Award for his piece on Georgetown’s John Thompson for HBO/Real Sports.
He has written six books on the making of his films and most recently authored a retrospective book about his film career titled That’s My Story and I’m Sticking To It.
The C. Christine Johnson Voices of Color Lecture Series was created to recognize Hamilton College's commitment to cultural diversity and sponsors a lecture by an influential leader of color each year.
“An Evening with Spike Lee” is sponsored by the President’s Office, Kirkland Endowment, Dean of Students Office, Student Activities Office, Office of the Chief Diversity Officer, Womyn’s Center, Black and Latino Student Union, Diversity and Social Justice Project, Africana Studies Department, Women’s Studies Department and SK Films.
Arrangements for the appearance of Spike Lee made through Greater Talent Network, Inc., New York, NY.
