Director Spike Lee has joined the lineup of speakers for the CICLOPE Festival which is scheduled for November 8-10 in Berlin, highlighted by panels, talks, networking and an awards ceremony spanning around 30 categories including direction, cinematography, production design, editing, VFX and music, with a Grand Prix for best in show.
Guests and speakers at CICLOPE this year will include Andrew Thomas Huang, director of some of the most memorable Björk music videos, Lauren Greenfield, a founder of Girl Culture films, David Lee, CCO of Squarespace US, Lynsey Atkin, 4Creative UK exec creative director, Matthew Fone, owner of Riff Raff Films, and directing duo Rubberband. CICLOPE aims to support the development of talent across the world and also holds regional versions of its awards in South America, Africa and Asia.
“Spike Lee has always been a pioneer, an icon of our generation. He took his camera to fight a cause, so his films can not only be considered to be culturally, historically and aesthetically important, but absolutely essential for a better world,” said Francisco Condorelli, founding director at CICLOPE. “I´m sure Spike will bring a different perspective to CICLOPE, making a significant contribution to the intellectual and creative capital of our community.”
Best known for films such as Do the Right Thing (1989), Malcom X (1992), Inside Man (2006) and BlacKkKlansman (2018), the Oscar-winning Lee is also a celebrated commercials director, with campaigns for Nike that included the company’s 50th anniversary ad in 2022, starring Zimmie and Mars Blackmon.
The ad brought back the Blackmon character from his 1986 film, She’s Gotta Have It, pitting him against Zimmie from a more recent TV reprisal of the film. Sitting at a sliding chess table in Brooklyn Park, the pair play out the last 50 years of sporting history, while attempting to get a checkmate.
