By: Christina Santi

Iconic director Spike Lee is set to preside over the 2021 Cannes Film Festival, making him the first Black president of the festival’s jury, according to Deadline.

“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,” Lee said in a statement.

The annual festival held in Cannes, France, previews new films of all genres from across the world. The 74th edition is expected to take place July 6-17 instead of its traditional May slot.

Lee was on track to lead last year’s festival and have his film, Da 5 Bloods, play out of the competition marking Netflix’s return to the Official Selection, according to Variety. However, the festival was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Throughout the months of uncertainty we’ve just been through, Spike Lee has never stopped encouraging us,” said Pierre Lescure, President of the festival. “This support is finally coming to fruition and we could not have hoped for a more powerful personality to chart our troubled times.”

The director’s jury appointment comes after his film BlacKkKlansman won Cannes’ Grand Prix in 2018 and earned Lee his first Oscar. He previously has had seven films play at the festival including the critically acclaimed Do the Right Thing. 

The official selection and remaining jury for Cannes 2021 will be announced in mid-April.

 

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