U.S. director Spike Lee is set to preside over the jury at the Cannes Film Festival in July

U.S. director Spike Lee will preside over the jury at the 74th Cannes Film Festival in July, the first black personality to hold the post.

Spike Lee was scheduled to serve as jury chairman last year, but the epidemic prevented the festival from taking place. “Loyal to his duties”, so he will accept this function for the 74th edition, which will take place from July 6 to 17, and its products are in full swing, many films are viewed by the selection committee, the organizers said in a statement on Tuesday.

They said the official selection and jury system would be released in early June.

The position of this primary filmmaker of black cause, the operator and author of major films, is a strong symbol of being sent back after being announced last year by the world’s most prestigious film festival.

“For 30 years, the inexhaustible Spike Lee has been translating the questions of his time into seriousness, in a contemporary form, never neglecting light and entertaining,” the event organizers underlined in a press release.

“We can’t rely on a powerful personality who questions our time so sadly,” festival president Pierre Lescore was quoted as saying in a statement. “His enthusiasm and his passion for cinema gives us the energy to prepare for the huge festival that everyone is waiting for,” said General Representative Theory Framex.

This 74th edition, at the Palace des festivals, is seldom expected: if health conditions allow it to take place on scheduled dates, it will be the most important world cinema gathering for more than a year. Most of the other major festivals have been forced to cancel in recent months or have satisfied themselves with online editions.