--- title: Spike Lee: Wait Until You See 'Chiraq' Before You Write It Off description: "Everything I've done has led up to this film." canonical: https://time.com/3859696/spike-lee-chiraq-chicago-violence-film/ author: Maya Rhodan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-05-15T01:17:58.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T07:13:26.100Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: Spike Lee Talks Controversial 'Chiraq' Film on Chicago Violence og:description: "Everything I've done has led up to this film" og:url: https://time.com/3859696/spike-lee-chiraq-chicago-violence-film/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt28f5f044e924239c/6987efd30b72e35f3d6e20e0/spike-lee.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Spike Lee attends a press conference to discuss the upcoming film 'Chiraq' at St. Sabina Church on May 14, 2015 in Chicago. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Spike Lee Talks Controversial 'Chiraq' Film on Chicago Violence twitter:description: "Everything I've done has led up to this film" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt28f5f044e924239c/6987efd30b72e35f3d6e20e0/spike-lee.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Spike Lee Talks Controversial _Chiraq_ Film on Chicago Violence by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan May 15, 2015 1:17 AM UTC  Spike Lee attends a press conference to discuss the upcoming film 'Chiraq' at St. Sabina Church on May 14, 2015 in Chicago. Spike Lee attends a press conference to discuss the upcoming film 'Chiraq' at St. Sabina Church on May 14, 2015 in Chicago.Daniel Boczarski—Getty Images by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan May 15, 2015 1:17 AM UTC Spike Lee sought [on Thursday](http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/movies/ct-spike-lee-chiraq-20150514-column.html#page=1) to squash some rumors that have been swirling about his upcoming film on the violence that plagues parts of Chicago. “A lot of things have been said about the film by people who know nothing about the film,” the famed director said during a [news conference](http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20150514/auburn-gresham/spike-lee-talks-chiraq-at-chicago-press-conference) at St. Sabina Catholic Church. “We felt it was appropriate that we say what the narrative is, the filmmakers, the people who are doing this. Not the people that’s judging from afar.” The film, which is reportedly titled “Chiraq”—though Lee referred to this as the “so-called-title”—has drawn the ire of city officials because it compares the city’s violence to the war zones of Iraq. Mayor Rahm Emanuel reportedly expressed his disdain for the title to Lee himself. According to [NBC Chicago](http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/Spike-Lee-John-Cusack-to-Speak-About-Chiraq-303655971.html), Alderman Will Burns also called for the city council to cut Lee’s tax break unless he changes the film’s title. The moniker Chiraq was popularized by Chicago rappers Chief Keef and later used by stars like Kanye West, who was also raised in the Windy City. “Everything I’ve done has led up to this film,” Lee said, adding a simple overall message: Don’t prejudge the film, whatever it may depict or be titled. “I love Chicago, you know,” he said. “Wait until the movie comes out. You don’t like it, you don’t like, but wait, see it first.” No details about the film, which [may be a musical comedy](http://time.com/3855323/spike-lee-chiraq-kanye/) based off of the Greek comedy “Lysistrata” but [will not feature Kanye](http://www.avclub.com/article/actually-kanye-west-wont-star-spike-lees-chiraq-219466), were disclosed Thursday, but Lee reiterated the importance of it given a recent spate of shootings across the Chicago area, notably in the Englewood area. “This is not a joke, this is not a game,” he said, “this is real life and death, and that’s the way we are going to approach this.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3859696/spike-lee-chiraq-chicago-violence-film/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3859696/spike-lee-chiraq-chicago-violence-film/"},"headline":"Spike Lee Talks Controversial Chiraq Film on Chicago Violence","datePublished":"2015-05-15T01:17:58.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T07:13:26.100Z","description":"“Wait until the movie comes out. 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