Critically acclaimed filmmakers Spike Lee and Barry Alexander Brown will receive lifetime achievement awards at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Presented by the AFI World Peace Initiative and the Better World Forum, the awards will honor Lee and Brown’s efforts to promote diversity, inclusion and social justice through their work.
“To see (my) work recognized and to receive this from an organization that is dedicated to such good work as the U.N.-affiliated AFI World Peace Initiative is, for me personally, very meaningful,” Brown said.
Lee and Brown are longtime collaborators that have worked on a number of classic films. Together, they have released Do The Right Thing, Inside Man, Malcolm X and several other films.
“Barry Alexander Brown has a body of work that is entertaining, enlightening and enriching. Honoring him during Cannes Film Festival is truly imperative because of his latest film, ‘Son of the South,’” H.R.H. Princess Angelique A. Monet of the Better World Fund added.
”Barry’s body of work is impacting our new generation with an action plan, and an understanding of modern-day non-violent movements. His art is reflecting change just as the Freedom Riders did for the Civil Rights Movement. His ongoing efforts with the Freedom Riders National Monument, since the film’s release, are truly heroic.”
Brown and Lee will receive their awards at the Better World Fund Gala on July 12. One day later, Brown will also receive the Embrace Award at the AFI World Peace Initiative.
