The Cannes film festival kicked off with a heavy political tone on Tuesday, July 6, with jury president Spike Lee denouncing authoritarians and the fact that black people are still “hunted down like animals” in the United States.
Lee — the first Black person to lead the festival’s jury — used his favourite nickname for Donald Trump, “Agent Orange,” and sported a cap reading “1619,” referring to the year in which the first slaves arrived in the Americas.
“This world is run by gangsters,” Lee said in response to an emotional appeal from a Georgian journalist who spoke about a recent crackdown on a Pride celebration in her country, which she blamed on Russian influence.
“Ag…
Keep on reading: ‘World run by gangsters’: Spike Lee sets political tone at Cannes