Oscar-Nominated Filmmaker Spike Lee to Speak on Campus

The Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences Division of Humanities will welcome Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Spike Lee, M.F.A., to NSU as part of the college’s 2010–2011 Distinguished Speakers Series. Lee will speak on Wednesday, November 3, 2010, at 7:00 p.m., in the Arena at the Don Taft University Center.

Lee’s films are outspoken and provocative socio-political critiques that challenge cultural assumptions about race, class, urban violence, and gender identity. In his more than 45 pictures, Lee serves as a director, producer, screenwriter, or actor—and sometimes all of these. His movies are often billed as “joints” instead of films.

In 1983, Lee created the production company 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks, based out of Brooklyn. Since its inception, 40 Acres has produced more than 35 of Lee’s films, such as Miracle at St. Anna, Inside Man, Summer of Sam, and Oscar-nominated works 4 Little Girls and Malcolm X. Lee’s debut feature film, 1986’s She’s Gotta Have It, grossed more than $7 million in theatres, though created on a $175,000 budget. Three years later, Lee received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay for Do the Right Thing.

In 2006, Lee directed and produced a four-hour documentary for television, When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts, about life in New Orleans, Louisiana, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The project won a Peabody Award, considered one of the most prestigious awards in electronic media. In his August 2010 HBO documentary, titled If God Is Willing and Da Creek Don’t Rise, Lee returned to New Orleans to depict Katrina’s lasting impact on the city and its inhabitants.

Spike Lee’s Distinguished Speakers Series talk is a free event, but tickets are required for admission. Tickets are now available to Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences students, faculty, and staff members. Tickets will be available to members of the NSU community on Monday, October 18.

Pick up tickets in the Office of the Dean, located in the Mailman-Hollywood Building, second floor, on NSU’s main campus. For more information, call (954) 262-8236. Please note: tickets are limited to two (2) per person.