Spike Lee - film director, producer, writer, and actor - will speak at Daemen College 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, April 13, 2004, in the Athletic Center on the Daemen campus, 4380 Main Street, in Amherst. His presentation, "America Through My Lens," will be free and open to the public. Lee's presentation will be the keynote address for the 2004 Daemen College Academic Festival, and will be free and open to the public.

Spike Lee's appearance at Daemen is sponsored by Robert Warren and the Estate of Rupert Warren, and the Daemen College Office of the President.

The Daemen College Academic Festival centers on student presentations to the community and campus guests, providing a showcase for academic achievement and excellence through student and faculty presentations, exhibitions, and performances. These presentations may reflect work done in a single discipline or be interdisciplinary in nature, and range in form from posters, papers, panel discussions, exhibits, or videos, to artistic, musical, or theatrical performances.

As a writer-director, actor, producer, author and philanthropist, Spike Lee has revolutionized the role of black talent in cinema. Widely regarded as today's premier African American filmmaker, Lee is a forerunner in the do-it-yourself school of independent film. Currently Lee is adding the final touches to his latest project, Sucker Free City, a television pilot produced for Showtime, in addition to helming production of his 18th feature film, the independently financed She Hate Me. Recent critical and box office successes have included such films as The 25th Hour, The Original Kings of Comedy, Bamboozled and Summer of Sam. Lee's films, Girl 6, Get on The Bus, Do The Right Thing and Clockers, display his ability to showcase a series of outspoken and provocative socio-political critiques that challenge cultural assumptions not only about race, but also class and gender identity.

His debut film, the independently produced comedy, She's Gotta Have It, earned him the Prix de Jeunesse Award at the Cannes Film festival in 1986 and set him at the forefront of the Black New Wave in American Cinema. His second feature, the very profitable School Daze helped to launch the careers of several young black actors. Lee's timely 1989 film, Do The Right Thing, garnered an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay, and Best Film & Director awards from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association. Lee's Jungle Fever, Mo' Better Blues, Clockers, and Crooklyn - were also critically well received.

Born in Atlanta, Georgia, and raised in Brooklyn, Lee returned south to attend Morehouse College. After graduation, he returned to Brooklyn to continue his education at New York University's Tisch School of Arts in Manhattan where he received his Master of Fine Arts Degree in film production. He founded 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks based in the Fort Greene section of Brooklyn, where he has resided since childhood.

In addition to his achievements in feature films, Lee has produced and directed numerous music videos for diverse artists including Miles Davis, Chaka Khan, Tracy Chapman, Anita Baker, Public Enemy, Bruce Hornsby, and Michael Jackson. His other music videos include work for the late Phyliss Hyman, Naughty by Nature, and Arrested Development.

Lee's commercial work began in 1988 with his Nike Air Jordan campaign. Collaborating with basketball great Michael Jordan on several commercials, Lee resurrected his popular character, Mars Blackmon, from She's Gotta Have It. He has also completed a PSA for UNCF which also features Michael Jordan called "Two Michaels." Lee is also well known for his Levi's Button-Fly 501, AT&T, and ESPN television commercials. Other commercial ventures include TV spots for Philips, Nike, American Express, Snapple, and Taco Bell. In addition, Lee has directed several Art Spot Shorts for MTV and a short film featuring Branford Marsalis and Diahnne Abbott for Saturday Night Live. Lee is involved in documentaries and sports programs as well. He completed the Emmy and Oscar nominated documentary, 4 Little Girls, for HBO and received an Emmy Award for his piece on Georgetown's John Thompson for HBO/Real Sports.

Additionally, Lee has authored six books on the making of his films. The fifth book, Five For Five, served as a pictorial reflection of his first five features. Mr. Lee than followed up with authoring a book entitled Best Seat in the House with Ralph Wiley. Most recently, he has co-authored a children's book entitled Please Baby Please with his wife, Tonya Lewis Lee.

Ever moving into new areas, Spike Lee has combined his extensive creative experience into yet another venture: partnering with DDB Needham, he created Spike/DDB - a full service-advertising agency.

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