MONTREAL, Canada — Indigenous Canadian filmmaker Kelvin Redvers was denied entry to the
red carpet at the 75th Cannes Film Festival because he was wearing traditional
moccasins, he told Canadian media on Saturday.
اضافة اعلان
The director is
a member of the Dene Indigenous community and grew up in the Northwest
Territories of
Canada.
“I grew up
around my culture on the land and moccasins are a big deal,” he told CBC.
“I understand
that there are certain rules about dress code on the red carpet so I thought if
I wore a tuxedo, a bow tie, and a piece that showed I was Indigenous, it would
be accepted.”
Redvers added
that moccasins “are very much considered traditional and formal clothing” among
many cultures in Canada.
The director had
traveled to France with a delegation of Indigenous filmmakers and was invited
to the premiere of “Les Amandiers” by French-Italian actor Valeria Bruni
Tedeschi on May 22.
Every time I wear them, it’s (the) best feeling, to be connected to family and Dene roots,
Festival
security officials, however, barred him from the red carpet, Redvers told
several major Canadian media outlets. He was only allowed to return once he had
changed his shoes.
“It’s kind of
hard to process things like that. I was almost, and even now when I think about
it, (it) kind of gets me a little upset. I was disappointed. I was angry,” he
explained upon his return to Vancouver,
British Columbia.
The brown
moccasins had been made by Redvers’ sister, and he said he was “excited” to
wear them at a significant moment in his life.
“Every time I
wear them, it’s (the) best feeling, to be connected to family and Dene roots,”
he said.
Within hours of
the incident, the filmmaker said he met with top festival officials, who
apologized and invited him to wear the shoes on the red carpet during the
presentation of
David Cronenberg’s “Crimes of the Future” on Monday.
Redvers said on Facebook
that he hoped the incident would help spread the word around the world “that
Indigenous cultural wear is completely acceptable in formal settings like the
red carpet.”
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