Director Spike Lee, known for his provocative and sociopolitical films, can now add "award-winning journalist" to his plethora of reasons to piss on sleepy, white-collar America. On February 19 Lee was officially named one of the recipients of journalism's annual George Polk Award for his 2006 documentary on life in post-Hurricane Katrina New Orleans.
Lee, the director of Malcolm X and Do the Right Thing, was honored for When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts, along with its producer, Sam Pollard.
The pair won the award for documentary television for illustrating evidence of the government's poor performance in the aftermath of the devastating August 2005 hurricane.
When the Levees Broke isn't shy in its attack on the American government's abandonment of the city following the natural disaster. Lee chronicles the city's emotional and physical devastation through nearly 100 heartbreaking interviews he conducted during his many visits, going face-to-face with everyone from local DJs to the elderly to the engineers that worked on the faulty levees themselves.
The New Yorker-with-a-Big Easy-Heart will receive his award in Manhattan on April 12.
phirephli said:
i liked that music video he did where the guy was on fire and running... oh boy did that tickle my spleen..
Sorry, but to set the record straight that was Spike Jonze who did that video, which was "California" by Wax. I agree, a great video! He also did the great video for Fatboy Slim "Weapon of choice" in which Christopher Walken dances around. check out the DirectorsLabel for other great video directors: http://www.directorslabel.com
Really looking forward to seeing it.
Lee's documentary "4 Little Girls" is one of the best I've ever seen and should have won the Oscar the year it came out.
I love that sequence in Malcolm X with the Sam Cooke
song a change is gonna come, that Denzel performance
deserved the oscar but... a mainstream prize to remember X? hell no!,
i would love to hear Lee´s opinion regarding Lars Von Trier´s Manderlay.
erin_broadley
Los Angeles, CA
October 2006
FEB 21, 2007 11:30 AM