According to The Hollywood Reporter, legendary filmmaker Spike Lee will be awarded a BFI Fellowship award, one of film’s highest accolades given by the UK’s top cinema organization.

On Feb. 13, Spike Lee will receive the award at a showing of his film Summer of Sam and during an on-stage Q&A with Tim Richards, chair of the BFI, and Ben Roberts, chief executive of the BFI. While in the country, Spike Lee will also meet with staff members at the BFI National Archive who have worked with the filmmaker on a new 35mm print of Malcolm X that will debut at the BFI’s first-ever Film on Film Festival in June at the BFI Southbank. He’ll also participate in a seminar with aspiring filmmakers.

MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY

In a recent statement released by the BFI, the prestigious organization said of Spike Lee’s upcoming award that it was being given based on the filmmaker’s “pioneering body of work that has spanned over thirty years and has chronicled black lives through bold and inventive cinematic works of art from feature films and documentary to television, music, commercials, and books.”

Some of Spike Lee’s most legendary credits include School Daze (1988), Malcolm X (1992), She Hate Me (2004), Inside Man (2006), Red Hook Summer (2012), and Da 5 Bloods (2020).

In response to his upcoming BFI award, Lee told THR, “I’m blessed to live up to my ancestors’ credo: ‘deeds, not words.’ I thank the BFI for helping me in continuing my generations of family legacy. Peace and love. Ya-dig? Sho-nuff,”

Angela Bassett Makes History With Recent Oscar Nomination

     Marvel Studios

On Tuesday, Jan. 24, the 95th Academy Awards announced that Malcolm X star Angela Bassett had been nominated for best supporting actress for her stirring portrayal of Queen Ramonda in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. The nomination is groundbreaking because Bassett is the first ever actor from the Marvel Cinematic Universe to be nominated for an Academy Award. She is also the first actor from the MCU to take home a Golden Globe Award. Most importantly, Bassett’s Oscar nomination, her second (she was nominated in 1994 for her role as Tina Turner in the film What’s Love Got to Do with It), has made her the fourth Black woman in the Academy’s history to be nominated multiple times.

Bassett told The Hollywood Reporter about her iconic role and nomination: “I certainly didn’t think about that going into the first day of filming — I began to hear about that a couple of weeks ago,” says Bassett of the potential for setting a new standard for Marvel actors. “Others have pondered that reality, but it certainly wasn’t me. I’m grateful for the role and the opportunity to work with the incredible artists, the amazing crew, and artisans behind the scenes.”

The Oscars air on the ABC network on Mar. 12 at 8:00 pm EST. Comedian Jimmy Kimmel will also host the ceremony.