Just a year after his Oscar glory with ‘BlackkKlansman’, Spike Lee has been named Jury president for the 73rd annual Cannes Film Festival. His presidential role makes him the first African-American and first person of the African diaspora to head Cannes.
Lee acknowledged the new role and expressed gratitude saying, “In this life I have lived, my biggest blessings have been when they arrived unexpected, when they happened out of nowhere. When I got the call that I was offered the opportunity to be President of Cannes Jury for 2020, I was shocked, happy, surprised and proud all at the same time. To me the Cannes Film Festival (besides being the most important film festival in the world, no disrespect to anybody) has had a great impact on my film career. You could easily say Cannes changed the trajectory of who I became in world cinemas.”
Over the years, Lee has premiered seven films at the festival and with some of them picked up award titles. In 1986, Lee’s first feature film ‘She’s Gotta Have It’ won the festival’s Prix de la Jeunesse award. In 1989 and 1991, Lee’s ‘Do The Right Thing’ and ‘Jungle Fever’ respectively, were among selected films for the Palm d’Or competition. Last year’s Oscar winning movie ‘BlackkKlansman’ was among the Palm d’Or contenders in 2018, but missed out and rather won the festival’s Grand Prix honor.
“At 62, the filmmaker, who is also a screenwriter, actor, editor and producer, has made numerous films that have become cult objects, and he brought the questions and contentious issues of the times to contemporary cinema. But he’s never lost sight of the public, setting out to raise their awareness of his causes in film after film,” the festival disclosed in a statement. “Spike Lee’s perspective is more valuable than ever. Cannes is a natural homeland and a global sounding board for those who (re)awaken minds and question our stances and fixed ideas. Lee’s flamboyant personality is sure to shake things up. What kind of President of the Jury will he be? Find out in Cannes!”
The 2020 Cannes Film Festival is expected to run from May 12 – 23. Official selection and the rest of the jury will be announced in mid-April this year.
