John Singleton: Funeral for Oscar-nominated director to be ‘small, intimate goodbye’
Acclaimed filmmaker died last month following stroke
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The funeral for Oscar-nominated director and writer John Singleton will be held in California on Monday, his representative has said.
Singleton, who won critical acclaim for 1991 drama Boyz n the Hood, died on April 29 almost two weeks after suffering a stroke, aged 51. His other films included Poetic Justice, Rosewood and Shaft.
The pioneering filmmaker will be laid to rest in his home city of Los Angeles in a ceremony for family and close friends, according to his spokeswoman.
The funeral will be a “very small, intimate goodbye” and will not be open to the press or public, but his family is planning a larger memorial “in a few weeks” to celebrate his life.
Barack Obama was among those to pay tribute to Singleton, saying that he “opened doors for filmmakers of colour to tell powerful stories that have been too often ignored”.
The former president tweeted: “Condolences to the family of John Singleton. His seminal work, Boyz n the Hood, remains one of the most searing, loving portrayals of the challenges facing inner-city youth.”
Get Out director Jordan Peele described Singleton as a “brave artist and a true visionary” while Shaft star Samuel L Jackson said that he “blazed the trail for many young filmmakers”.
Boyz n the Hood was based on Singleton’s upbringing and shot in his old neighbourhood.
It starred Cuba Gooding Jr, in his first major film role, as a rebellious teenager whose single mother sends him to live with his father in Los Angeles.
Singleton became the first black director to receive an Academy Award nomination, and the youngest to do so, and also received a screenplay nomination.
Additional reporting by agencies
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