A highly enterprising black filmmaker and actor, Lane played the leading role in his own low-budget comedy-drama, "Sidewalk Stories" (1989), which he also wrote and edited. An unusual effort in that it was silent as well as black and white, it paid overt homage to the great silent comics of yore and garnered critical acclaim for its sensitive, Chaplinesque portrayal of a homeless man who cares for an abandoned little girl. Lane followed up with the decidedly more expensive and mainstream comedy "True Identity" (1991), based on an Eddie Murphy "Saturday Night Live" sketch about a black actor
Wrote, produced and starred in award-winning student short, "A Place in Time", filmed silent and in black and white
1989
Feature directing debut with the low-budget, independently made black-and-white film, "Sidewalk Stories", which he also produced, wrote, edited and starred in
1991
Directed first Hollywood feature, "True Identity", partially produced by Touchstone Pictures
1993
TV directorial debut, "Hallelujah", a feature-length original production made by PBS's "American Playhouse"
1993
Acted in the feature, "Posse", which he did not direct
