Cannes may not be taking place this year, but the festival did announce their lineup of official selections on Wednesday. It includes two films from director Steve McQueen, who says he is dedicating them to the memory of George Floyd.
"I dedicate these films to George Floyd and all the other black people that have been murdered, seen or unseen, because of who they are, in the U.S., U.K. and elsewhere," McQueen said in a statement via Variety. "'If you are the big tree, we are the small axe.' Black lives matter."
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The films are Lovers Rock and Mangrove, which are part of McQueen's anthology series, Small Axe, about London's West Indian community spanning from the 1960s to the mid-'80s. Lovers Rock is a love story featuring Blue Story actor Michael Ward, while Letitia Wright (Black Panther) stars in Mangrove, about the Mangrove 9 activists.
McQueen's previous films include Widows and 12 Years a Slave, for which he won the Oscar for Best Picture.
The dedication comes days after Spike Lee released a short film in protest to the killing of Floyd. Lee was set to make history this year as the first black president of a Cannes jury. Following the cancellation of the festival, he has been invited to return in the same capacity next year.
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