Spike Lee named as Cannes jury president
Spike Lee will lead this year’s Cannes Film Festival jury.
The acclaimed director will be the first black person to do so in the festival’s 73-year history. https://t.co/0cFE4smCt6
- The New York Times (@nytimes) January 14, 2020
- Spike Lee was named president of the 2020 Cannes jury
- He has a long standing relationship with the festival: his debut film, She's Gotta Have It, premiered there in 1986 and in 2018 he was awarded the Grand Jury Prize for BlacKkKlansman
- Though other black filmmakers (including Ava DuVernay, Will Smith and Whoopi Goldberg) have served on the jury, Lee is the first to serve as president
- The Cannes Jury gathers in May to watch all the films in official competition and vote on which films receive awards
- Lee released a statement with the news where he said he was "shocked, happy, surprised and proud" to be named jury president and called Cannes the most important film festival in the world.