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Entertainment & Arts

In pictures: Acclaimed filmmaker Spike Lee

The Directors Guild of America is honoring Spike Lee this weekend during their annual awards ceremony.

Lee, 64, becomes the first black director to receive the Guild’s Lifetime Achievement Award for outstanding achievement in film directing.

“Icon. trailblazer. Visionary. Spike Lee changed the face of cinema and there is not a single word that sums up his importance to the craft of directing,” said Directors Guild President Lesli Linka Glatter in January. “From his groundbreaking ‘Do the Right Thing’, ‘BlacKkKlansman’ and everything in between, to his signature ‘Double Dolly’ shot, Spike is an innovator on so many levels. His bold and passionate storytelling over the past three decades has been masterfully entertained as it strongly reflects our society and culture.”

In the Guild’s 86-year history, only 35 directors have received this lifetime achievement award. Past winners include Steve Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Alfred Hitchcock, Stanley Kubrick, and Orson Welles. The most recent winner was Ridley Scott in 2017.