Director Spike Lee to head 2020 Cannes Film Festival jury

[January 14, 2020]  PARIS (Reuters) - U.S. director Spike Lee has been named president of the jury for the 2020 Cannes Film Festival, organizers said on Tuesday.

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.

"I’m honored to be the first person of the African diaspora (USA) to be named President of the Cannes Jury and of a main film festival", Lee said in a statement.

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 to 23.

The other members of the jury and the films on the program will be announced mid-April.

(Reporting by Matthieu Protard; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

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