Spike Lee to headline Digital Edge Live 2015

Renowned film director Spike Lee will be the headline speaker at this year’s Digital Edge Live event, set to take place on 9 September. The theme for this year’s event, which will take place at the Sandton Convention Centre, is “Making Stories” and is all about winning the hearts and minds of audiences in the digital age.

Now in its seventh year, Digital Edge Live aims to bring advertisers, agencies, technologists and innovators together to look at the most important digital trends in marketing.

“The digital revolution has given rise to a new age of storytelling in which marketers have become content producers and audiences have become collaborators. In a world saturated with media, standing out requires a mastery of content and technology, taking consumers on a journey in which they are active participants. In the most powerful line-up to date, South Africa’s leading thinkers in digital storytelling will be taking to the stage to share their insights into the art of Making Stories,” says Jarred Cinman, Managing Director of NATIVE VML.

Born in Atlanta, Georgia, and raised in Brooklyn, Lee founded the production company 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, which has produced over 35 films since 1983. Widely regarded as a premiere African-American filmmaker, Lee is a forerunner in the ‘do it yourself’ school of independent film. His epic drama Malcolm X, starring Denzel Washington, received two Academy Award nominations. Other critical and box office successes have included films such as Red Hook Summer, Inside Man, 25th Hour, The Original Kings of Comedy, Bamboozled, and School Daze. Lee has also created documentaries, sports programmes and commercials, has published six titles on his filmmaking career and co-authored three children’s books with his wife, Tonya Lewis Lee.

“Spike Lee is a true master of storytelling. He not only revolutionised the role of black talent in cinema but also showcased outspoken and provocative socio-political critiques that challenged cultural assumptions, not only about race, but class and gender identity as well. He has also worked extensively on large scale global campaigns and will bring his unique insight into marketing to diverse audiences. We are excited to have him as part of our line-up,” says Cinman.

Tickets for the Digital Edge Live can be reserved on the event site.