Film Streams announces legendary filmmaker Spike Lee as special guest for Feature IX
Film Streams is thrilled to announce that Academy Award-winning filmmaker Spike Lee, cultural icon and a defining figure in American cinema for over three decades, will be the special guest for Feature 9, our organization’s ninth such event in support of our mission and programs. The celebration — Film Streams' first Feature event since 2019 — will take place Sunday, November 16, 2025, at the Holland Performing Arts Center.
The centerpiece of the evening will be an on-stage conversation beginning at 7 pm, offering attendees a deep dive into Spike Lee’s celebrated filmmaking career and perspective on the medium.
Spike Lee is the director of more than two dozen feature films, including She’s Gotta Have It, Mo’ Better Blues, Malcolm X, He Got Game, Inside Man, BlacKkKlansman, and the landmark Do the Right Thing — an extraordinary portrait of race and community that remains one of the most influential films in American cinema. Highest 2 Lowest, Lee's latest film and fifth collaboration with Denzel Washington, opens at Film Streams' Dundee Theater on August 15.
Single tickets for Feature 9 go on sale to Film Streams Members on Friday, August 29, and to the general public on Wednesday, September 3. Tickets for the conversation begin at $35 for Film Streams Members, with additional giving levels that include pre and post-party festivities.
All proceeds support Film Streams, a nonprofit arthouse devoted to enhancing the cultural environment of Omaha and the surrounding region through the presentation and discussion of film as an art form. Honorary chairs for Feature 9 are Tina and Dan Lonergan.
First held in 2008, Film Streams' Feature event has welcomed some of film's most celebrated voices to Omaha, including Laura Dern, Debra Winger, Steven Soderbergh, Jane Fonda, David O. Russell, the cast of Nebraska (Bruce Dern, Will Forte, June Squibb), Julianne Moore, and Paul Giamatti.
All were interviewed or welcomed to the stage by Omaha native and Oscar-winning writer-director Alexander Payne, who expressed his excitment for Spike Lee's visit:
“Spike Lee in Omaha? The Spike Lee? The guy with glasses whose movies have been astounding me ever since She’s Gotta Have It? And for Film Streams Feature? This is a dream come true!”
“Spike Lee’s impact on cinema and culture is beyond words, and it’s an immense honor to welcome him to Omaha,” said Film Streams Executive Director Maggie Wood. “As we bring Feature back after six years, we couldn't dream of a better guest to help us celebrate the power of film to spark dialogue and connection.”
For more information and updates, visit our Feature IX page.
For media inquiries, contact Casey Logan at casey@filmstreams.org
Academy Award® winner Spike Lee’s iconic body of storytelling has made an indelible mark on the world of filmmaking and television. His career spans over 30 years and includes: She’s Gotta Have It, School Daze, Do the Right Thing, Mo’ Better Blues, Jungle Fever, Malcolm X, Crooklyn, Clockers, Girl 6, Get on the Bus, He Got Game, Summer of Sam, Bamboozled, 25th Hour, She Hate Me, Inside Man, Miracle at St. Anna, Red Hook Summer, Old Boy, and Chi-Raq. Lee’s outstanding feature documentary work includes the double Emmy® Award-winning If God Is Willing and Da Creek Don’t Rise, a follow up to his HBO documentary film When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts, and the Peabody Award-winning A Huey P. Newton Story. In the television arena, his Netflix original series She’s Gotta Have It ran two seasons on the platform. The series was a contemporary update of his classic film.
Highest 2 Lowest, Lee’s latest joint and fifth film with Denzel Washington, premiered at the 2025 Cannes International Film Festival and opens nationwide on August 15.
In 2018, the visionary filmmaker co-wrote and directed the Academy Award-nominated and critically acclaimed hit feature BlacKkKlansman, which won the Oscar® for Best Adapted Screenplay. Lee is a five-time Oscar nominee (Do The Right Thing for Original Screenplay, 4 Little Girls for Documentary Feature, BlacKkKlansman for Picture, Director and Best Adapted Screenplay-Winner) and was awarded an Honorary Oscar in 2015 for his lifetime achievement and contributions to the state of motion picture arts and sciences.
Lee is also known for his legendary Air Jordan TV commercials and marketing campaigns with Michael Jordan for Jordan Brand. He recently directed new additions to the Capital One “Road Trip” National Campaign featuring Samuel L. Jackson and Charles Barkley.
In addition to his films, TV series, and commercials, Lee has directed a number of short films for artists such as Michael Jackson, Prince, Public Enemy, Naughty by Nature, Branford Marsalis, Bruce Hornsby, Miles Davis, and Anita Baker.
Spike Lee is a graduate of Morehouse College and New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, where he is a tenured Professor of Film and Artistic Director. Lee’s production company, 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, is based in Da Republic of Brooklyn, NY.
