Oscar-winning director Spike Lee, whose films have reflected significant cultural and historical content with the highest quality, will receive the esteemed Trailblazer Award from the Location Managers Guild International (LMGI) at the 7th Annual LMGI Awards celebrating the theme “2020 Vision: We See It First.” The 2020 Awards, hosted by Isaiah Mustafa, will honor the prestigious spectrum of Lee’s extraordinary award-winning work over the past three decades on Saturday, October 24 at 2:00 PM PT during a virtual ceremony. The announcement was made today by LMGI President Mike Fantasia and Awards Co-chairs Lori Balton and John Rakich.
Awards Co-chair and former LMGI President Lori Balton comments, “We are especially grateful that Mr. Lee has brought so much diverse talent into the industry. Actors like Samuel Jackson, Rosie Perez and Giancarlo Esposito, but also so many of us working behind the scenes—Wynn Thomas, Ruth Carter, Ernest Dickerson and Brent Owens to name a few. He is a Trailblazer on a number of levels.”
Spike Lee is an award-winning film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. His production company, 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, has produced more than 35 films since 1983. Lee’s work has continually explored race relations, colorism in the Black community, the role of media in contemporary life, urban crime and poverty, and other political issues. He has won numerous accolades for his work, including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, two Emmy® Awards, two Peabody Awards, and the Cannes Grand Prix. He has also received an Academy Honorary Award, an Honorary BAFTA Award, an Honorary César, and The Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize among many others.
Lee made his directorial debut in 1986 with She’s Gotta Have It and has since written and directed such films as Do the Right Thing, Mo’ Better Blues, Jungle Fever, Malcolm X, He Got Game, 25th Hour, Inside Man, Chi-Raq, BlacKkKlansman and, most recently, Da 5 Bloods. Lee also acted in ten of his films.
Lee’s films Do the Right Thing, Malcolm X, 4 Little Girls and She’s Gotta Have It were each selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Film Registry for being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”
Final online balloting for the LMGI Awards will be held August 1-10, 2020 and winners will be announced at the virtual awards ceremony on Saturday, October 24 at 2:00 PM PT. The LMGI Awards honor the outstanding and creative visual contributions by location professionals in film, television and commercials from around the globe.
The LMGI Awards also recognize outstanding service by film commissions for their support “above and beyond” during the production process. For a list of 2020 LMGI Awards nominees, visit LocationManagers.org.
This year, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 7th Annual LMGI Awards breaks with tradition and will be presented on a digital platform, streaming to a worldwide and more inclusive audience. Recipients of the Lifetime Achievement, Humanitarian and the Eva Monley Awards, which recognize and honor industry members who support the work of location professionals, will be announced in the near future.
