The filmmaker Spike Lee is this year’s recipient of the $300,000 Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize, one of the largest in the arts, the Gish Prize Trust announced. Mr. Lee will receive the award on Oct. 30 at a private event at the Museum of Modern Art.
Mr. Lee gained a reputation as a groundbreaking, provocative filmmaker with his first full-length film, “She’s Gotta Have It,†in 1986. It explored the life of a young woman who unapologetically juggled three lovers (one played by Mr. Lee himself). Mr. Lee, a director, actor, writer and producer, cemented his reputation with an extensive body of work. It includes the 1989 critically acclaimed feature film “Do the Right Thing,†about racial unrest in Brooklyn, and the 2006 documentary “When the Levees Broke,†about the ravages of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.
The Gish prize, now in its 20th year, was established by Lillian Gish’s will. It is given annually to “a man or woman who has made an outstanding contribution to the beauty of the world and to mankind’s enjoyment and understanding of life.†Mr. Lee was chosen from among 30 finalists in all fields of the arts, nominated by artists. Darren Walker, president of the Ford Foundation, was the chairman of the selection committee.
“We honor Spike Lee for his brilliance and unwavering courage in using film to challenge conventional thinking, and for the passion for justice he feels in his soul,†Mr. Walker said in a statement.
Mr. Lee said that Lillian Gish was important to his development as an artist. “Would you believe, two of the most important films that impacted me while I was studying at N.Y.U. starred Lillian Gish?†he said in a statement released by the Prize Trust. “Those films were D.W. Griffith’s ‘The Birth of a Nation’ and Charles Laughton’s ‘The Night of the Hunter.’ â€
