Our annual award presented to a luminary Black filmmaker
The Michael Schultz Award is an annual honor presented by Milwaukee Film to a distinguished Black filmmaker whose work embodies the artistic excellence, cultural impact, and visionary spirit that define Milwaukee-native Michael Schultz’s remarkable career.
Kasi Lemmons began her incredible career in front of the camera, appearing in TV shows such as ER, The Cosby Show, and Murder: She Wrote, and films such as School Daze, Silence of the Lambs, The Five Heartbeats, and Candyman. As a writer and director, she gifted the world with a catalog of incredible films including the critically acclaimed Eve’s Bayou, The Caveman’s Valentine, and Talk to Me, which earned the 2008 NAACP Image Award for outstanding directing. Her most recent film, the Netflix documentary Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody, debuted at #1 in its first weekend. We’re honored to celebrate Kasi Lemmons and her life’s work as this year’s Michael Schultz Award honoree!
The 2026 Michael Schultz Award is presented with the support of Brewers Community Foundation and Mark and Wanda Staples.
2026 Schedule of Events
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 13
9 PM: Candyman • Oriental Theatre
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 14
2 PM: Talk to Me • Oriental Theatre
feat. post-screening Q+A with Kasi Lemmons, hosted by Michael Schultz
7 PM: Award Presentation + Eve’s Bayou Screening
feat. pre-screening conversation w/Kasi Lemmons, hosted by Michael Schultz
Friday, 11/13
See Kasi Lemmons acting in one of the most iconic horror films of all time.
Saturday, 11/14
Kasi Lemmons and Michael Schultz in attendance!
As an actor, director, writer, producer, librettist, mentor, and educator, Kasi Lemmons is one of the most powerful voices of our time. Her first feature, Eve’s Bayou, is considered one of the essential works of the 1990s and in 2017 was selected for preservation in the Library of Congress’s National Film Registry. Her second film, The Caveman’s Valentine, starring Samuel Jackson, opened the 2002 Sundance Film Festival. Lemmons’ third feature Talk to Me, starring Don Cheadle, earned the 2008 NAACP Image Award for outstanding directing. Her fourth film, Black Nativity, was released nationwide on Thanksgiving 2013. In 2019, Lemmons’ fifth film, Harriet, starring Cynthia Erivo as the iconic freedom fighter, was nominated for two Oscars, including Best Actress. Her first libretto, “Fire Shut Up In My Bones,” composed by Terence Blanchard, opened The Metropolitan Opera’s ’21-’22 season, the first opera by an African- American composer and librettist ever performed at The Met. “Fire Shut Up In My Bones” went on to win a Grammy for Best Opera Recording. Her sixth film, Whitney Houston – I Wanna Dance With Somebody, opened Christmas ’22 and was #1 on Netflix during its debut weekend. Lemmons is an Arts Professor in the Graduate Film Department at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.
Michael SchultzKasi Lemmons is a filmmaker who tells the truth with grace. Eve’s Bayou announced a major voice, and she has never stopped growing, from Talk to Me to the Met Opera stage. She’s also teaching and lifting up the next generation of directors. That’s what this award is about: craft, courage, and generosity. I couldn’t be prouder to put my name on an honor going to her.”
2025 – Michael Schultz
The 2025 celebration featured screenings of three films that represent the breadth of Schultz’s filmmaking: The Last Dragon, Car Wash, and Cooley High.
Michael Schultz—Milwaukee’s most luminary filmmaker—stands as one of the first Black directors to work consistently in Hollywood film and television. Since the 1970s, he has directed more than a dozen feature films and over one hundred television episodes, and at 86 years old, he remains active and influential.
A native of Milwaukee, Schultz grew up on Vine Street and attended Riverside High School and Marquette University before continuing his studies at Princeton University. Early in his career, he was honored with a 1969 Obie Award and received a Tony nomination for directing Song of the Lusitanian Bogey. His success continued with films such as the influential Cooley High in 1975. In 1977, his film Car Wash, featuring Richard Pryor and George Carlin, made him the first African American director nominated for major awards at the Cannes Film Festival. The film went on to win Cannes’ Grand Prix Technique and Best Music awards.
Schultz directed the cult classics The Last Dragon, Krush Groove, Disorderlies, and Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, among many others. Throughout his career, he helped launch the careers of Denzel Washington and Samuel L. Jackson, collaborated repeatedly with Richard Pryor, and was inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame in 1991.
Rubin Whitmore III was moved by the desire to see this extraordinary Black man from Milwaukee, Michael Schultz, get his flowers for his lifetime of cinematic excellence. In that moment, I also realized this recognition could be the beginning of a greater effort to uplift other extraordinary filmmakers.
The Michael Schultz Award is an annual honor presented by Milwaukee Film to a distinguished Black filmmaker whose work has made a lasting contribution to cinema. The award recognizes filmmakers who embody the artistic excellence, cultural impact, and visionary spirit that define Milwaukee-native Michael Schultz’s remarkable career. Established in 2025, the award reflects Milwaukee Film’s long-term commitment to uplifting Black filmmakers and bringing their work into deeper conversation with audiences in Milwaukee and beyond.
The award is presented at a public celebration that includes curated screenings, onstage conversations, and opportunities for the filmmaker to engage with Milwaukee audiences. Through this annual tradition, Milwaukee Film aims to highlight the historical and contemporary contributions of Black filmmakers while fostering dialogue about the power and importance of their work.
Milwaukee Film works with an advisory committee of Black leaders and industry professionals to help guide and shape this award. Their involvement ensures that the award continues to honor filmmakers whose voices deserve recognition and whose artistic influence leaves a lasting mark.
The idea for the Michael Schultz Award was first proposed by Milwaukee filmmaker Rubin Whitmore II during a conversation about the approaching 50th anniversary of Cooley High. Whitmore expressed a desire to celebrate Schultz’s extraordinary career while also creating a platform that would uplift other Black filmmakers.
His vision aligned with Milwaukee Film’s mission, leading to the formation of an advisory committee and the involvement of Brewers Community Foundation as a leading sponsor. Their support made it possible for the award to be established as an ongoing, annual tradition.
Ty Williams, Milwaukee Film’s Black Lens Programmer, describes the award as a way to inspire those who wish to follow in Schultz’s footsteps. By screening the work of each honoree and inviting them into dialogue with Milwaukee audiences, the program deepens public appreciation for their artistry and reinforces the importance of Black voices in film.
Associated Bank is the official bank of Milwaukee Film. Learn more here