Charles Lane

Charles Lane, with a host of awards and credits to his name, is a force to be reckoned with. Born in New York's South Bronx in 1953 and inspired by Hitchcock films, Lane knew early in his childhood what his true calling was. His passion for film transpired when while in junior high he made his first film, a spy spoof, with a Super-8 camera his father had given him for Christmas. Lane furthered this pursuit with his enrollment for a film degree at State University of New York at Purchase. During his years in college Charles Lane wrote and directed A Place in Time (1977), a short that won the Student Academy Award. However, Lane grew up in a time when the prospects for African American filmmakers were limited, but during the 1980s a revival for black films that strayed away from the blaxploitation features arose. Then after a brief inspirational conversation with a homeless man on his way back from a boxing match, Lane created his launching vehicle to filmmaking history, Sidewalk Stories