“We’re going full speed ahead: a woman could lead the country, and we’re behind her,” says Spike Lee, with just forty decisive days left before the US presidential election and division raging south of the border. While the gap between the two candidates is tight, Kamala Harris nevertheless enjoys a slight lead over her opponent ahead of the November 5 election. “It’s a tense atmosphere right now for my sister, the vice president, and Dougie Doug [Douglas Emhoff, son compagnon] “, notes the ultra-committed New York filmmaker – in this campaign as in his cinema. For him, “truth and justice will prevail”, but we must not cry victory too soon, “because [l’]”The other guy is not only bad for the United States, but also for the world,” he warns. So now is not the time to let up.
Despite a difficult political context in the United States and a presidential campaign in full swing, Spike Lee still gives some of his time to the Montreal International Black Film Festival (MIBFF), which is hosting him for the fourth time and has, for the occasion, named him honorary president of its 20th edition.e edition. “I don’t know what it means exactly, but I’m glad I accepted,” the director jokes during a Zoom interview between two Kamala Harris support events, which he regularly attends with his partner. “I’m always happy to come back to Montreal, because the festival grows over the years, and we grow old together,” he emphasizes, while his cult classic Do the Right Thing celebrates its 35th anniversary.
His remarkable filmography and political struggles will be discussed during the conversation À cœur ouvert avec Spike Lee hosted by the founder of the FIFBM, Fabienne Colas, for the opening of the festival. “There will always be a need for events [comme FIFBM] that are aimed at a specific audience — gay, lesbian, black, etc.,” says the Oscar-winning filmmaker for BlacKkKlansman (Undercover operation) in 2019. He believes it is essential to shine a light on these often-silenced groups of people. “Everyone needs to tell their particular story, and those voices need to be heard,” he says.
Although he is not an expert on the Montreal cultural scene, Spike Lee does discuss American realities on the ground. “In the United States, we really need more diversity in films,” he says. People of African descent have certainly always been able to make their voices heard in culture, in sports and music, among other things, but according to him, there is still a long way to go in cinema and television, as he already showed in 2000 in Bamboozled. “When you’re not in a position of power, you can be exploited. And that’s what it’s about,” the filmmaker believes.
Moving
With a career spanning forty years, Spike Lee is also a privileged witness to the changes and developments in the film industry. “Digital has reinvented everything, because people make films with their phones now, and it’s much more democratic than before, when you had to have a lot of money,” he mentions. In fact, this greater accessibility would benefit independent cinema more, which has neither color nor genre. “You have a phone? You can make a film. It’s not a question of nationality, you know,” he adds.
Of course, the downside of this accessibility was not long in coming: streaming and people not going to the movies as much anymore. “It hurts me that my movies might be watched on an iPhone,” confides the man who has just received a very special honor. The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Downtown Brooklyn is now the Spike Lee Cinema, a real “Spike Lee Joint,” in short… An invitation to young people to put down their cell phones so they can enjoy a feature film in theaters, perhaps? A hope, at least. “What’s even worse is when I see young people watching movies holding their phones vertically. It drives me crazy!” he laments, somewhere between humor and dismay.
In any case, Spike Lee is looking forward to reuniting with the Quebec public. “I’ve always had a great time in Montreal, especially when it’s not winter, and I’ve met some great people there,” he says. The filmmaker also enjoys talking about his first memory of the city. “It was for Expo 67, I was 10 years old and we had driven from New York for long hours as a family,” he says.
He also has a surprise for the FIFBM festival-goers, who have always made sure that local audiences can (re)discover his films. “I’m going to talk about my fifth feature film with Denzel Washington, High and Lowwhich will be released in 2025.” What a promise, Spike Lee!