On the day of the premiere of Spike Lee’s new film Highest 2 Lowest, 70-year-old American actor and director Denzel Washington was awarded the Palme d’Or for his achievements.
The film, where Denzel played the lead role, was shown outside the festival’s competition program. After the final credits, the audience applauded for six minutes.
Before the premiere of the joint work, Spike Lee unexpectedly presented Denzel with an award. Before this moment, the director of the Cannes Film Festival, Thierry Fremaux, presented the audience with a selection of video clips from films featuring Washington, including excerpts from Spike Lee’s Malcolm X (1992) and Mo’ Better Blues (1990), as well as from the Oscar-winning films Glory (1989) and Training Day (2001).
The actor admitted that the award was a big surprise. He visited Cannes for the second time in his life, having first attended the festival in 1993.
The world premiere of the thriller is scheduled for August 22.