Indigenous Canadian Filmmaker Asked to Leave Cannes Red Carpet over Shoes

Crew members install the red carpet at the Palais des Festivals ahead of the opening day of the 75th international film festival, Cannes. (AP)
Crew members install the red carpet at the Palais des Festivals ahead of the opening day of the 75th international film festival, Cannes. (AP)
TT
20

Indigenous Canadian Filmmaker Asked to Leave Cannes Red Carpet over Shoes

Crew members install the red carpet at the Palais des Festivals ahead of the opening day of the 75th international film festival, Cannes. (AP)
Crew members install the red carpet at the Palais des Festivals ahead of the opening day of the 75th international film festival, Cannes. (AP)

Indigenous Canadian filmmaker Kelvin Redvers was denied entry to the red carpet at the 75th Cannes Film Festival because he was wearing traditional moccasins, according to Agence France Press (AFP). 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,” he said. 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.

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's 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."



Unreleased Beyonce Music Stolen From Car in Atlanta

FILE - Beyonce, left, accepts the Innovator Award during the iHeartRadio Music Awards, April 1, 2024, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)
FILE - Beyonce, left, accepts the Innovator Award during the iHeartRadio Music Awards, April 1, 2024, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)
TT
20

Unreleased Beyonce Music Stolen From Car in Atlanta

FILE - Beyonce, left, accepts the Innovator Award during the iHeartRadio Music Awards, April 1, 2024, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)
FILE - Beyonce, left, accepts the Innovator Award during the iHeartRadio Music Awards, April 1, 2024, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)

Computer drives containing unreleased music by US superstar Beyonce and plans related to her concerts were stolen last week in Atlanta, police said Monday, with a suspect still at large.

The items were stolen from a rental car used by Beyonce's choreographer and a dancer on July 8, two days before the pop icon kicked off the Atlanta leg of her "Cowboy Carter" tour, a police incident report said, according to AFP.

Choreographer Christopher Grant, 37, told police that he returned to the car to find its rear-window smashed and their luggage stolen.

Inside were multiple jump drives that "contained water marked music, some un-released music, footage plans for the show, and past and future set list (sic)," the report said.

Also missing were an Apple MacBook, headphones and several items of luxury clothing.

Police investigated an area where the MacBook and headphones had pinged their location, but the report did not mention any items being recovered.

Atlanta Police said in an online statement that a warrant had been issued for an unnamed suspect's arrest, but that the suspect remained at large.

The "Cowboy Carter" tour kicked off in April after the global superstar took home her first "Album of the Year" Grammy for the 2024 album.

The sweeping country-themed work saw Beyonce stake out musical territory in a different genre from much of her previous discography.

The ambitious, historically rooted album also aimed to elevate and showcase the work of other Black artists in country music, whose rich contributions the industry has repeatedly sidelined.

As her stadium tour to promote the album winds down, Beyonce ended her four-night stint in Atlanta on Monday, with two final performances set for late July in Las Vegas.