The following is a list of awards and nominations received by Spike Lee.
Spike Lee is an American filmmaker and actor. He is known for directing racial dramas, historical epics, thrillers, war dramas, social satires and documentary films. Lee has received various awards including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, four Emmy Awards and two Peabody Awards as well as nominations for a Grammy Award, three Golden Globe Awards, and three Critics' Choice Movie Awards.
Lee started his career with an early student film Joe's Bed-Stuy Barbershop: We Cut Heads (1983) which earned the Student Academy Award. He directed his seminal breakthrough work, the racial drama Do the Right Thing (1989) which received acclaim as well nominations for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay as well as two Golden Globe Awards (for Best Director and Best Screenplay).
He directed the historical documentary film 4 Little Girls (1997) which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film and the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special. With the historical comedy-drama BlacKkKlansman (2018), he won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, his first competitive win, as well as nominations for Best Picture and Best Director.
He directed the HBO documentary miniseries When the Levees Broke (2006) for which he received a Peabody Award as well as two Primetime Emmy Awards (for Outstanding Directing for a Documentary/Nonfiction Program and the Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking). He directed another HBO documentary, If God Is Willing and da Creek Don't Rise (2010) for which he won his second Peabody Award. He directed the HBO David Byrne concert film American Utopia (2020) for which he was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Music Film.
Over his career he has received numerous honors including the Special BAFTA Award in 2002, an Honorary César in 2003, The Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize in 2013, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences's Academy Honorary Award in 2015, the Directors Guild of America's Lifetime Achievement Award in 2022, and the American Society of Cinematographers Board of Governor's Award in 2024. He was presented with the National Medal of Arts from President Joe Biden in 2023.
Major Associations Academy Awards Year Category Nominated work Result Ref. 1983 Student Academy Award Joe's Bed-Stuy Barbershop: We Cut Heads Microsoft Word - winners-by_year.doc 1989 Best Original Screenplay Do the Right Thing 1997 Best Documentary Feature 4 Little Girls 2015Academy Honorary Award 2018 Best Picture BlacKkKlansman Best Director Best Adapted Screenplay
BAFTA Awards Year Category Nominated work Result Ref.British Academy Film Awards 2002 Special Award Himself 2018 Best Film BlacKkKlansman Best Direction Best Adapted Screenplay
Critics' Choice Awards Year Category Nominated work Result Ref.Critics' Choice Movie Awards 2018 Best DirectorBlacKkKlansman Best Adapted Screenplay 2020 Best Director Da 5 Bloods
Emmy Awards Year Category Nominated work Result Ref.Primetime Emmy Awards 1998 Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special 4 Little Girls 2007 Outstanding Directing for Nonfiction Programing When the Levees Broke Exceptional Merit in Documentary 2021 Outstanding Variety Special (Pre-Recorded)David Byrne's American Utopia Outstanding Directing for a Variety Special New York Emmy Awards2015 Entertainment: Program/SpecialThe Lineup: Best New York Movies Interview/Discussion Sports Emmy Awards 2022 Outstanding Production The 2021 NBA Finals
Golden Globe Awards Year Category Nominated work Result Ref. 1990 Best Director Do The Right Thing Best Screenplay 2019 Best Director BlacKkKlansman
Grammy Awards Year Category Nominated work Result Ref. 2022 Best Music Film David Byrne's American Utopia
Peabody Awards Year Category Nominated work Result Ref.2001Peabody Award A Huey P. Newton Story 2006 When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts 2010 If God Is Willing and da Creek Don't Rise
Festival awards Organizations Year Category Work Result Ref. American Black Film Festival 1998 Best Director 4 Little Girls 1999He Got Game Best Screenplay 2004Time Warner Innovator Award Atlanta Film Festival 2005Ossie Davis Award Berlin International Film Festival 1993 Golden Bear Malcolm X 1997 Get on the Bus Honourable Mention 2001 Golden Bear Bamboozled 2003 25th Hour Cannes Film Festival1986Caméra d'OrShe's Gotta Have It Award of the Youth 1989 Palme d'OrDo the Right Thing 1991Jungle Fever Ecumenical Jury - Special Mention 1999 C.I.C.A.E. Award Summer of Sam 2002 Un Certain Regard Award Ten Minutes Older: The Trumpet 2018 Palme d'OrBlacKkKlansman Grand Prix Ecumenical Jury - Special Mention Capri Hollywood International Film Festival 2018 Best Adapted Screenplay Blackkklansman
Miscellaneous awards Organizations Year Category Work Result Ref. Black Movie Awards 2006 Best Director Inside Man Black Reel Awards 2000 Best Director Summer of Sam Best Film The Best Man 2001 Best Screenplay, Adapted or Original Bamboozled Best Director Best Film Love & Basketball 2002 Network/Cable - Best Film 3 A.M. Best Director: Television A Huey P. Newton Story ' 2003 Best Director 25th Hour Best Film 2005 Best Screenplay, Adapted or Original She Hate Me Best Director 2006 Best Director: Television Sucker Free City Miracle's Boys 2007 Best Director Inside Man 2008 Miracle at St. Anna Best Film 2010 Best Director Passing Strange Best Feature Documentary 2011 Best Television Documentary If God Is Willing and Da Creek Don't Rise 2013 Best Director Red Hook Summer Best Screenplay, Adapted or Original Best Feature Documentary Bad 25 Detroit Film Critics Society Awards 2021 Best Director Da 5 Bloods NAACP Image Awards 1989 Outstanding Motion Picture School Daze 1990 Do the Right Thing Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture 2007 Outstanding Directing in a Motion Picture Inside Man 2009 Miracle at St. Anna 2010 Passing Strange: The Movie 2019 BlacKkKlansman Outstanding Writing in a Motion Picture Location Managers Guild Awards 2020 Location Managers Guild Trailblazer Award Outstanding Locations in a Contemporary Film Da 5 Bloods 2019 Outstanding Locations in a Period Film BlacKkKlansman
Honorary awards Organizations Year Award Result Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences 2015 Academy Honorary Award American Society of Cinematographers 2024 Board of Governor's Award "ASC to Honor Spike Lee with Board of Governors Award". American Cinematographer. February 6, 2024. Retrieved February 26, 2024. British Academy Film Awards 2002 Special BAFTA Award César Awards 2003Honorary César Directors Guild of America 2022 Lifetime Achievement Award The Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize 2013 Gish Prize National Endowment for the Arts 2023 National Medal of Arts
Awards and nominations received by Lee's films Year Film Academy Awards BAFTA Awards Golden Globe Awards Nominations Wins Nominations Wins Nominations Wins1989Do the Right Thing241992Malcolm X21200225th Hour12018BlacKkKlansman615142020Da 5 Bloods11Total11161100
Directed Academy Award performancesUnder Lee's direction, these actors have received Academy Award nominations for their performances in their respective roles. +YearPerformerFilmResultAcademy Award for Best Actor1992Denzel WashingtonMalcolm XAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actor1989Danny AielloDo the Right Thing2018Adam DriverBlacKkKlansman
References