Indigenous filmmaker says he was denied entry to the Cannes red carpet for his loafers

TORONTO – A Dene filmmaker says he was “disappointed” and “on the verge of tears” when Cannes Film Festival security prevented him from walking the red carpet while he was wearing a pair of loafers.

Kelvin Redvers, a Vancouver-based producer who attended Cannes as part of a delegation of six Indigenous filmmakers, says he was denied entry to the carpet for Valeria Bruni Tedeschi’s “The Almond Trees” on Sunday. last because the festival staff did not approve of his traditional Aboriginal film. shoe.

He says he was only allowed to walk the carpet if he swapped his loafers for a pair of dress shoes that Cannes deemed appropriate.

Redvers agreed, but he hopes talking about his experience will cause Cannes organizers to rethink what counts as evening wear when it comes to representing different cultures on their red carpets.

“Whenever there’s an opportunity – whether it’s an awards show or a special event – it’s really important to me to be able to bring a bit of my Dene heritage,” he said. -he declares.

“My goal was to wear my suit, my bow tie and my Dene loafers, which are formal, they are cultural. And they are always elegant and chic. I had no reason to believe they wouldn’t walk the red carpet.

Cannes is notoriously strict when it comes to evening wear at many of its red carpet premieres – requiring black tie for men and evening dresses for women – however, some traditional evening wear is accepted, such as kilts Scottish and Indian saris.

The festival has previously outlined some of the expectations for evening wear on its website, but in recent years – after a number of controversies, including one involving women wearing flats instead of heels – official guidelines have practically changed. disappeared online.

Ahead of Sunday’s screening, Redvers says he got together with his fellow filmmakers to take pictures in their tuxedos and loafers. The group, which was in Cannes with support from Telefilm, the Indigenous Screen Office and Capilano University’s FILMBA program, then made their way to the red carpet.

After going through the first security check, Redvers removed his pair of dress shoes and put on his loafers. It was then that security at a second checkpoint stopped him.

Different levels of Cannes red carpet officials were brought in to assess the situation, Redvers says, while a French-speaking member of his cohort tried to explain to security, “It’s cultural wear and tear, it’s traditional. They just didn’t hear it.

“Eventually, a security guard hit his breaking point,” Redvers says.

“He just changed and was… furiously immediately demanding that I leave, in an aggressive, angry tone, saying, ‘Leave, leave, you have to leave now.'”

Festival representatives did not respond to requests for comment.

After the hot moment, Redvers decided he still wanted to attend the screening, so he took off his loafers and walked into the theater.

“I was so disappointed, like it was actually distracting during the movie,” he says.

“I just couldn’t help but think about not being allowed to represent my culture on the red carpet on this global stage.”

“I was on the verge of tears and quite upset,” he added.

After members of Telefilm and the Indigenous Screen Office complained to Cannes about the treatment of filmmakers, Redvers said management agreed to meet with them and apologize for the negative experience.

“I think it was a productive meeting,” he said.

“It’s an educational time because they just didn’t understand what moccasins were and why they were important. (They) just thought of them as slippers, that’s what they said repeatedly.

Cannes officials invited him to wear his loafers to the red carpet premiere of David Cronenberg’s “Crimes of the Future” the following night. When a security guard threw off his shoes during this screening, a senior staff member intervened and left him on the mat.

“It was probably the most satisfying moment of the festival,” he says.

“Being able to wear the loafers on the red carpet.”

This report from The Canadian Press was first published on May 28, 2022.