Spike Lee To Be Honored With Chaplin Award At Lincoln Center

Spike Lee is receiving one of the highest honors for a filmmaker. The New York director will get the Chaplin Award at a New York City gala on April 27, 2020, presented by Film at Lincoln Center.

The Hollywood Reporter broke the news that the Oscar-winning filmmaker will receive the award that was given previously to the likes of Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro, Robert Redford, Morgan Freeman, among others.

"We are delighted to honor Spike Lee, an original and iconic New York filmmaker," Film at Lincoln Center's board chairwoman Ann Tenenbaum said in a statement. "It is thrilling to welcome his bold voice into the pantheon of artists who have received the Chaplin Award."

Film at Lincoln Center will showcase a presentation of some of Lee’s films at the gala, which will be a part of the most important fundraiser of the year for the organization.

Lee received his start as a filmmaker in the 80s with films like “She’s Gotta Have It” and “Do The Right Thing.” He has received acclaim for many of his films over the years and won an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for his 2018 film “BlackkKlansman.” Lee has also received an honorary Oscar for his lifetime achievements and contributions to film in 2015.

"It's hard to conceive of the New York film community without Spike Lee," FLC executive director Lesli Klainberg said.

"For four decades he has been making challenging films that speak to our vibrant city and to the larger world, and his work remains as vital as ever. We feel lucky to have had a special relationship with Lee at Film at Lincoln Center, showing his very first film at the 1983 New Directors/New Films festival, and welcoming his films to our theaters in the years since. Just last year, coinciding with his appearance on the cover of 'Film Comment,' Lee presented 'BlacKkKlansman' to a sold-out crowd in our Walter Reade Theater. We are honored to pay tribute to this great artist and true cinephile."

The award was named after comedian and actor Charlie Chaplin, who accepted the first award in 1972.