Academy Award® winner Spike Lee’s iconic body of storytelling has made an indelible mark on filmmaking and television. He recently released his latest joint HIGHEST 2 LOWEST, his fifth film with Denzel Washington. In 2018, Lee co-wrote and directed the Academy Award®-nominated and critically acclaimed hit feature BLACKKKLANSMAN which won the Oscar® for Best Adapted Screenplay.

His career spans over 30 years and includes: SHE’S GOTTA HAVE IT, SCHOOL DAZE, DO THE RIGHT THING, MO’ BETTER BLUES, JUNGLE FEVER, MALCOM X, CROOKLYN, CLOCKERS, GIRL 6, GET ON THE BUS, HE GOT GAME, SUMMER OF SAM, BAMBOOZLED, 25TH HOUR, SHE HATE ME, INSIDE MAN, MIRACLE AT ST. ANNA, RED HOOK SUMMER, OLD BOY, CHIRAQ, and DA 5 BLOODS. Lee’s outstanding feature documentary work includes the double Emmy® Award-winning IF GOD’S WILLING AND DA CREEK DON’T RISE, a follow up to his HBO documentary film WHEN THE LEVEES BROKE: A REQUIEM IN FOUR ACTS and the Peabody Award-winning A HUEY P NEWTON STORY.

Spike Lee is a five-time Oscar nominee (DO THE RIGHT THING for Original Screenplay, 4 LITTLE GIRLS for Documentary Feature, BLACKKKLANSMAN for Picture, Director and Best Adapted Screenplay-Winner) and was awarded an Honorary Oscar in 2015 for his lifetime achievement and contributions to the state of motion picture arts and sciences. He is a graduate of Morehouse College and New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, where he is a tenured Professor of Film and Artistic Director. Lee’s Production Company 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks is based in Da Republic of Brooklyn, NY.

For his transcendent, urgent, and transformational contributions to the art of cinema, The Montclair Film Festival is honored to present Spike Lee with our 2025 Filmmaker Tribute.

Moderated by Stephen Colbert