Celebrate 40 years of Spike Lee films with free screenings

The latest: Emory Cinematheque hosts "40 years of Brother Spike Lee" with weekly screening of his films.

• The series began Wednesday with "She's Gotta Have It" and runs through Dec. 9.

What they're saying: Beretta Smith-Shomade, a professor of film and media at Emory, said in a press release that Lee's movies never focus on one issue, and usually address underlying themes like racism, portrayals of Black people in media and poverty.

• "There are always a whole host of things characters are grappling with, whether that's schooling, crime or just living day to day," Smith-Shomade said.

Zoom in: Emory's screenings are free and open to the public. They will be held Wednesdays at 7:30pm at Room 208 in the White Hall building.

Fun fact: The Academy Award-winning director was born in Atlanta, but his family moved to New York City when he was a child.

• He studied at Clark Atlanta University and Morehouse College, and graduated from the latter with a bachelor's degree in 1979.

State of play: Here's the full screening schedule:

• "School Daze" (Sept. 9)
• "Do the Right Thing" (Sept. 16)
• "Jungle Fever" (Sept. 23)
• "Malcolm X" (Sept. 30)
• "Crooklyn" (Oct. 7)
• "Clockers" (Oct. 14)
• "Girl 6" (Oct. 21)
• "Little Girls" (Oct. 28)
• "He Got Game" (Nov. 4)
• "Summer of Sam" (Nov. 11)
• "Bamboozled" (Nov. 18)
• "25th Hour" (Dec. 2)
• "BlacKkKlansman" (Dec. 9)