US movie director, Spike Lee has been named President of the Jury for the 2020 Cannes Film Festival, making him the first black director to lead the panel. This comes amid criticism that film competitions and awards lack diversity.
The 62-year-old filmmaker, who succeeds Mexican Director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, will head the panel that will award the 73rd Palme d’Or prize, organisers said on Tuesday.
Cannes Film Festival directors are aiming to “shake things up” with the choice of the US filmmaker as jury head.
In a statement released by the festival, Lee said “I’m honoured to be the first person of the African diaspora (USA) to be named President of the Cannes Jury and of the main film festival.”
“When I got the call … I was shocked, happy, surprised and proud all at the same time.” Adding that the Cannes festival had “ changed the trajectory of who I became in world cinema.”
His latest movie BlacKkKlansman won the Cannes Grand Prix in 2018.
This year’s Cannes, the biggest gathering of the global movie industry, will run from May 12 till May 23. Announcement of other members of the jury will come up in mid- April.
Festival organiser, Thierry Fremaux however, stressed that the naming of the first black president of the Cannes jury was not a political move, but instead, “ a message of the universality.“