For immediate release

SPIKE LEE

Academy Award Nominated Director to Receive
Inaugural PIONEER AWARD
at 10^th Annual Montreal International Black Film Festival

Followed by the International Premiere of his latest film
DA SWEET BLOOD OF JESUS

Wednesday September 24, 7PM at Imperial Theatre
Tickets on sale now: www.montrealblackfilm.com

Montreal International Black Film Festival – created by the Fabienne Colas Foundation
presented by Global Montreal – September 23 to 28, 2014

Montreal – Wednesday, September 3, 2014 – Academy Award nominated director and screenwriter Spike Lee will receive the Montreal International Black Film Festival’s inaugural PIONEER AWARD on Wednesday September 24, 2014, 7PM at Imperial Theatre. The MIBFF is thrilled to grant him this prestigious award in recognition of his body of work which revolutionized the role of black talent in Hollywood, tearing away decades of stereotypes and marginalized portrayals to establish a new arena for African-American voices to be heard.

The award ceremony will precede the Canadian premiere of Da Sweet Blood of Jesus, Spike Lee’s latest film funded by Kickstarter. Following the film screening, audience members will get a chance to participate in a Q&A session with the famed director.

MIBFF’s presentation of the PIONEER AWARD coincides with the 25^th anniversary of Spike Lee’s landmark film, Do the Right Thing. The movie portrayed the racial tensions that emerge in the Bed-Stuy neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York on the hottest day of the summer. Do the Right Thing garnered Oscar nominations for Best Original Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor and sparked a debate on racial relations.

“It is a tremendous honour and privilege for all of us to welcome Spike Lee to Montreal and to honour him with the Montreal International Black Film Festival’s very first PIONEER AWARD. We hope to inspire the next generation of filmmakers to push the envelop and raise their voice for everything they believe in: dare to be yourself!” – Fabienne Colas, President and Founder of the MIBFF.

“Having Spike Lee at the 10^th MIBFF not only to receive the festival’s inaugural PIONEER AWARD but also for the Canadian premiere of his latest film Da Sweet Blood of Jesus, 25 years after Do the Right Thing, is not only a privilege but an immense honour” –Emile Castonguay, Programming Director and Co-Founder of the festival.
Spike Lee Biographical Note
Spike Lee is a Writer-Director, Actor, Producer, Author and Educator who has helped revolutionize Modern Black Cinema. He has been a pioneer of independent filmmaking and a strong proponent of African American culture, delving into the perplexities of race and identity. Much of his work is politically inflected, provocative, and often controversial, and treats issues of identity and community that resonate throughout African American literature. Several of Lee’s films deal with questions and dilemmas surrounding African American identity, gender, and class.

Spike Lee made a name for himself with the hit independent film She’s Gotta Have It (1986). In later films he continued to tell stories with racial themes and New York settings, including the Brooklyn drama Do the Right Thing (1989), jazz-tinged Mo’ Better Blues (1990), the interracial romance Jungle Fever (1993), the biopic Malcolm X (1992) which earned Denzel Washington an Oscar nomination, documentary 4 Little Girls (1997) which got an Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary Feature, Summer of Sam (1999), the controversial racial satire Bamboozled (2000) and the mainstream heist thriller Inside Man (2006).

Through his production company 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks, Lee continues to create and direct both independent films and projects for major studios, as well as working on story development, creating an internship program for aspiring filmmakers, releasing music, and community outreach and support.

This year, Professor Lee got tenure at NYU where, in 1993, he began teaching the Graduate Film Program at Tisch School of the Arts where he received his Master of Fine Arts in Film Production. In 2002 he was appointed the Artistic Director of the Graduate Film Program.

Montreal International Black Film Festival – created by the Fabienne Colas Foundation – presented by Global Montreal, will be held from September 23 to 28, 2014. Visit www.montrealblackfilm.com for more info.

About the Montreal International Black Film Festival – MIBFF
The Montreal International Black Film Festival (MIBFF) was created in 2005 by the Fabienne Colas Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting cinema, art and culture. As Canada’s biggest Black Film Festival, MIBFF’s mission is to stimulate the development of the independent film industry and to foster the creation of films on international black realities. The Festival wants to promote a different kind of cinema: cinema from both here and abroad that doesn’t always make it to the silver screen. We showcase ground-breaking cinema that both moves and shocks us, all while raising awareness. Join us for a fresh look at black cinema from all four corners of the globe!

For information, interviews and promotional material:

Media Relations Manager: Talar Adam – presse@montrealblackfilm.com – (514) 833-0274

English Press Agent: Danny Payne – danny@montrealblackfilm.com – (514) 621-8657