Spike Lee Will be Honored at Cannes Lions With New Creative Award

The filmmaker behind some of the most politically important films of the last three decades, Spike Lee, is to be honored at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity with a new award: the honorary Creative Maker of the Year.

Lee, an Oscar winner whose films include Do the Right Thing, BlackkKlansman, Malcolm X and Jungle Fever, will be awarded for his contribution to the creative industry. He has worked in advertising through his own creative agency, Spike DDB, which has collaborated on ads with brands such as Chevrolet, Pepsi, the NBA, Jaguar and Doritos.

He will receive the award on the Festival Stage on the final day of the festival, June 23, while speaking with filmmaker and director Barry Alexander Brown.

Shannon Watkins, chief marketing officer at Jordan Brand, said: “Spike’s focus on telling stories, combined with his ability to capture the pulse of Black culture, sets him apart from others in the industry. Spike created iconic memories and helped to build the soul of what Jordan Brand represents. Maybe the shoes on our feet wouldn’t make us jump as high as MJ, but just for a moment, we might feel the confidence and self-belief of the greatest to ever do it.”

Simon Cook, CEO of Cannes Lions, said the new award would honor creative makers from any discipline who act as “inspiration beacons” for the community.

“In our 70th year, it seems appropriate that the inaugural Creative Maker award should go to a director. It’s a huge honor to present Spike Lee, one of the most influential figures in contemporary cinema and culture, with this accolade live at the festival,” Cook added. “Spike embodies the spirit of this award as a maker who strives to make creative stories and show the world what they can only see in their imaginations.”

Founder of Black at Cannes, Peter Ukhurebor, expressed why Lee has been an inspiration for creatives through his work: “The Creative Maker of the Year award serves as an inspiration to continue leading the way in creating opportunities for diverse voices and promoting inclusion and equity in the global creative industry.”

The Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity will take place June 19-23.

Also receiving awards will be AB InBev, which will win the Creative Marketer Award for the second year in a row, while last week the festival organizers also revealed the winners of the Young Lions Awards.