Spike Lee Discusses Malcolm X, Mecca, Colin Kaepernick At Red Sea Film Festival
Spike Lee Discusses Malcolm X, Mecca, Colin Kaepernick At Red Sea Film Festival
© Provided by VarietySpike Lee attended the first public screening of Malcolm X in Saudi Arabia on Saturday at the Red Sea Film Festival. The film shot key scenes in Mecca more than 30 years ago, but was never shown in the kingdom due to a 35-year cinema ban that ended in December 2017.
At Sunday's press conference, Lee expressed his thoughts on the video, often referring to the World Cup in neighboring Qatar. "It's a sport for me," he joked.
In addition to cheering for the American team, recently eliminated from the World Cup, he added that he "wanted Cameroon to win a lot" because of his family roots, as his father's family is from Cameroon and his mother's from Cameroon. Sierra Leone - “My ancestors were stolen from Africa. They were not slaves. They were slaves.
He explained why it was so important to film Malcolm X during the Hajj in Saudi Arabia, the Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca. "We made the first film where it was allowed to bring a camera to Mecca during the Hajj. Of course, I hired an all-Muslim film crew. The Islamic Supreme Court approved it, not because of me, but because they realized how important was is ". Malcolm X was in favor of Islam. We were blessed. Yesterday we closed the circle.
Lee said that finally getting the chance to visit Saudi Arabia and meet young filmmakers was a very moving experience. “[Director and cinematographer] Ernest Dickerson was a classmate at New York University, along with Ang Lee. We were all in the same class. Ernest has shot all my films until our last collaboration on Malcolm X. We wanted it to be an epic film, like David Lean's Doctor Zhivago or Lawrence of Arabia. We knew with all our might that we had to film the Hajj ceremony where Malcolm X converted to true Islam. He added a lot of soul to this film.
In his autobiography, he wrote that he was with other Muslims "whose eyes are the bluest". Then he realized that some of his earlier ideas about Islam were wrong.
"There's no other way to shoot these scenes in Mecca. You can't fake this huge crowd. I couldn't do it on a budget. That's amazing. It gave the film that special feel that we needed."
The director added that his friendship with Oliver Stone, who currently chairs the jury at the Red Sea Film Festival, helped him in his fight with Warner Bros. Robert Daly and Terry Semel asked him to reduce his first cut from four to two hours. He called Stone, who said "JFK" was three hours and used it to defend the three-hour cut of "Malcolm X."
But still, he applauded WB executives' commitment to the film: "First we showed the Warner Bros. film of the Rodney King trial and riots. Then in Los Angeles. To their credit, as a whole neighborhood. They burned down Los Angeles, they all stayed for a four-hour rehearsal.
When asked if it was important to support the growing Saudi film industry, he replied: “Absolutely. You can't trust others to tell your stories. It's basic 101. A lot of people told me early in my career that film noir didn't work. They said you can't be a black superhero. They said black films couldn't travel. There was a false narrative. My brother Ryan Coogler changed that. "Black Panther" blew it out of the water.
His general advice to young filmmakers is "You have to keep busy making movies. It's a tough company to break into. Everyone I work with has a strong work ethic. Miles Davis, Michael Jackson, Prince, Michael Jordan, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin have a great work ethic they are artists that
He also emphasized the importance of building a team - "Who are your parents? You have to have that gang mentality" - and how other directors like Martin Scorsese, whom he met at New York University, helped his career . I spent seven days shooting West Side Story with Steven Spielberg. "I was amazed by the scale of the shoot. It was amazing to see a master at work.
Lee said he was in Brazil three weeks ago when right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro defeated Lula in the presidential election. "I'm very happy with the result I got in Brazil. It's disturbing to see what's happening in Russia. What happened with the January 6 uprising. 'Agent Orange' is being introduced again. This right-wing phenomenon is happening in America just stopped abortion. Crazy things happen."
He also spoke about the dangers of abandoning culture. "Art has changed the word good and bad. It depends on the artist. But today many artists are criticized for their work. We have to separate the art from the artists. I have to see the German director Leni Riefenstahl. See Triumph of the Will, it's a film of awesome". Watch the ending of Star Wars: George Lucas took it from here."
The filmmaker discussed his current documentary series about how former San Francisco 49ers quarterback and civil rights activist Colin Kaepernick was fired in 2016 when he began kneeling during the national anthem to protest racial injustice.
"They say he got away. But we say he's been acquitted. He's still training six days a week and waiting for that call from the NFL. He knelt to raise awareness about the killing of black people and coffee in America." and was considered foreign.
When asked if he had experienced anything like this in his career, Lee said no. "There is no comparison with me, I am blessed.
"[Kaepernick] sacrificed his career because he said we need to pay attention to racial injustice. He knelt in 2016. It's been four years before George Floyd's murder. People kneel all over the world after his murder. After that, all eight minutes racist cop this is when he kneeled on George Floyd's neck and killed him Many teams in the world like England kneel now But Colin Kaepernick is still unemployed
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