Spike Lee has been chosen to serve as President of the Jury at Festival de Cannes. This will be the 73rd edition of the festival and will take place May 12-23, 2020. Surrounded by his jury, whom are expected to be announced in April, Spike Lee will present the award Palme d’or at the close of the festival.
As published by Festival de Cannes:
On behalf of the Festival de Cannes, its Board of Directors and its teams, Pierre Lescure, President, and Thierry Frémaux, General Delegate, are delighted to welcome both the artist and the man: "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!"
Also by Festival de Cannes:
SPIKE LEE'S STATEMENT
"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 cinema.
It started way back in 1986 – my first feature film She's Gotta Have It, which won the Prix de la Jeunesse in the Director's Fortnight. The next joint was in 1989 – Do The Right Thing, an Official Selection in Competition. And I don't have the time nor space to write about the cinematic explosion that jumped off, still relative to this, 30 years later.
Then, Jungle Fever, 1991 - Official Selection in Competition, Girl 6, 1996 - Official Selection Out of Competition, Summer Of Sam, 1999 - Director's Fortnight, Ten Minutes Older, 2002 - Official Selection in Un Certain Regard and then BlacKkKlansman, 2018 - Official Selection in Competition where it won the Grand Prix, which became the launching pad for the world theatrical release which led to my Academy Award for screenplay.
So if you were keeping score, that's 7 Spike Joints to be chosen.
In closing, I'm honored to be the first person of the African diaspora (USA) to be named President of the Cannes Jury and of a main film festival.
The Lee family sincerely thanks the Festival de Cannes, Pierre Lescure and Thierry Frémaux and the great people of France who have supported my film career throughout four decades. I will always treasure this special relationship.
Peace and Love,
SPIKE LEE
DA PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.
Spike Lee will also be recognized this April by the Film Society Lincoln Center with the
2020 Chaplin Award.