Steven Spielberg to Receive 2013 Records of Achievement Award
Congratulations, Steven Spielberg! The East Hampton director will receive the 2013 Records of Achievement Award at the National Archives in Washington, D.C.
Spielberg is being honored for promoting awareness of United States history and identity through the use of original records while researching his films, such as Saving Private Ryan, Lincoln and, of course, Jaws (ok, maybe not Jaws, but it’s so good!). He will be awarded in a special ceremony at the organization’s November 19 gala, which is on the 150th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s most famous speech, his 1863 Gettysburg Address. Documentary filmmaker Ken Burns, creator of The Civil War series on PBS, is serving as the event chair.
Spielberg will also will be honored for creating the USC Shoah Foundation Institute for Visual History and Education, which has filmed numerous interviews with survivors of the Holocaust and genocides around the world. As these survivors die and time passes, these films will remain as a living record and reminder of humanity’s darkest moments.
The director joins a esteemed list of past Records of Achievement Award honorees, including Tom Brokaw, David McCullough, James McPherson and Ken Burns.