The Second Annual Bahamas International Film Festival

Honors Spike Lee with the Career Achievement Award

New York, New York (September 28, 2005) – World renowned award winning director, Spike Lee, will receive the Career Achievement Award when he is honored by the Second Annual Bahamas International Film Festival (BIFF), December 8-11, 2005. The award will honor his innovative style as a result of his major impact on the frontiers of cinematic artistry. The tribute will include a public dialogue in an actor’s studio style presentation that will be moderated by a distinguished film critic, journalist, producer– as well as a montage of conversation provoking film clips from Mr. Lee’s career.

Mr. Lee’s remarkable work as an actor and director will make this inaugural honor stand out in the history of The Bahamas. He is a strong advocate for assisting developing countries in all areas of filmmaking. As an emerging film festival, it is important to have a role model that filmmakers today can emulate. "Not only are we celebrating his career, we are celebrating the career of a maverick who has opened doors, created opportunities and has changed the fabric of cinematic history,” says Leslie Vanderpool, Founder & Executive Director, BIFF.

"Spike Lee offers emerging young actors the opportunity to work in a very creative, safe yet cutting edge environment. When working with Spike he never cuts off your creative input which means a lot to a growing artist”, says actor Anthony Mackie (star of Spike Lee’s She Hate Me).

In celebration of Cinema in Paradise, the Second Annual BIFF will present approximately seventy-five films, encompassing international features, shorts, documentaries, animation and panels. The categories for this year’s competition include Spirit of Freedom and New Visions. There will be five panels discussing marketing, distribution, directing/acting, documentary filmmaking and new media.

The Spirit of Freedom competition, which is presented by Versace, will honor one narrative and one documentary whose subject matter touches upon the filmmaker’s personal convictions and journey into the human spirit with ties to themes such as religion, politics and the freedom of expression. The New Visions category, which is presented by Hard Rock Café, will focus on emerging artists who have completed no more than two films, only narrative films will be honored in this category. Films entered into the competition categories will be eligible for a Grand Jury Prize. Other film categories that are non-competitive will include Family Film, World Cinema, Touching Africa Sidebar and a Caribbean Spotlight. BIFF 2005 will also honor accomplished artists with Gala Presentations and Special Tributes.