Spike Lee

Known for: Do the Right Thing (1989), Malcolm X (1992)

Spike Lee made She's Gotta Have It (1986) independently for under $200,000 and Do the Right Thing (1989), both landmarks in American independent cinema that centered Black American experience in the mainstream for the first time at that scale. He has maintained an independent production base in Brooklyn throughout his career. He won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for BlacKkKlansman (2018).