NAMIC (National Association for Multi-ethnicity in Communications) said Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Spike Lee has joined the roster of speakers set for the 29th Annual NAMIC Conference. A two-day symposium held in conjunction with the television industry's Diversity Week, the NAMIC Conference will take place Sept. 29-30 at the New York Marriott Marquis in New York City. Lee's keynote presentation will highlight the NAMIC Conference general session scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 30.
“For more than two decades, Spike Lee has demonstrated his commitment to advocating for diversity on screen and behind the camera," Eglon E. Simons, president and CEO of NAMIC, said in a release. "An icon within the entertainment industry, NAMIC is honored to have Mr. Lee share his insight and vast experience at this year's conference."
From the NAMIC statement: One of the most celebrated multi-hyphenate storytellers of all-time, Lee is a director, writer, producer, actor, author and educator. A forerunner in the ‘Do It Yourself’ school of independent film, Lee's first feature, She's Gotta Have It, shot on just $175,000, grossed more than $7 million at the box office. Lee has since produced and directed countless movies -- or, as they're known in the vernacular, "Spike Lee Joints." Lee's extensive resume includes box office successes such as Do the Right Thing, Jungle Fever, School Daze, Malcolm X, Summer of Sam, Crooklyn, He Got Game, Inside Man, Miracle at St. Anna, Red Hook Summer and When the Levees Broke, the Peabody award-winning HBO documentary on Hurricane Katrina. In keeping with his commitment to independent filmmaking, Lee recently finished his Kickstarter funded Da Blood of Sweet Jesus. Prior to this, was the release of the reinterpretation of the Korean psychological thriller Oldboy and Mike Tyson Undisputed Truth, a videotaping of Mike Tyson’s Broadway show. Lee's next feature, Chiraq, is scheduled for release later this year. An award-winning filmmaker recognized by numerous industry organizations and film festivals, Lee earned an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay in 1990 for Do The Right Thing. Lee received a second Oscar nomination for Best Documentary, Features, for 4 Little Girls, the critically-acclaimed documentary of the civil rights era bombing of the 16th Street Church in Birmingham, Ala. Lee was honored by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences with a 2015 Governors Award. Currently, Lee serves as the artistic director of the graduate film program at NYU.
Time Warner Cable is the presenting sponsor of the 29th Annual NAMIC Conference. Additional sponsors include AMC Networks, ARRIS, Asia TV USA LTD, Centric, Centris Marketing Science, Comcast, Cox Communications, Fox Deportes, NBCUniversal, NCTA, REVOLT, Scripps Networks Interactive, Turner Broadcasting System and TV One.
Online registration can be accessed by visiting http://www.namic.com. Diversity Week events also include the WICT Leadership Conference, and the centerpiece is the 32d annual Walter Kaitz Foundation Fundraising Dinner.
