- Spike Lee shared that his new movie Highest 2 Lowest will make its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, but the event did not include the title on its lineup announcement
- Highest 2 Lowest is Lee’s first narrative movie as a director since 2020’s Da 5 Bloods and his first collaboration with Denzel Washington since 2006’s Inside Man
- The Cannes Film Festival will run from May 13 to May 24
Spike Lee is excited to take his new movie to the 2025 Cannes Film Festival.
On Thursday, April 10, Academy Award-winning filmmaker Lee, 68, wrote on Instagram that his new movie Highest 2 Lowest — which stars his frequent collaborator Denzel Washington — will premiere at the French festival in May. Lee’s surprise reveal came the same morning the festival released its 2025 lineup, though Highest 2 Lowest was not included on the initial announcement.
Lee shared the news by posting a photo of what appeared to be a patchwork quilt bearing the phrase “Highest 2 Lowest 2 Cannes” above the logo for his production company, 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks.
“Bon Jour. Good Morning. Whaddup❓Da New SPIKE LEE JOINT-HIGHEST 2 LOWEST Starring My Brother DENZEL WASHINGTON Has Been Invited To Da 2025 CANNES INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (In The Out Of Competition Category),” Lee wrote in the caption to his post. “AND DAT’S DA BOTTLES OF 🍾 🥂TRUTH,RUTH. YA-DIG❓SHO-NUFF. 🇫🇷💪🏾🇺🇸👍🏾👏🏾🙏🏾🔥🤓.”
Representatives for the Cannes Film Festival did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment regarding Lee’s announcement.
Highest 2 Lowest marks Lee’s first narrative movie as a director since 2020’s Da 5 Bloods. In the last five years, Lee directed David Byrne’s American Utopia and multiple commercials. Highest 2 Lowest will make the fifth movie Lee and Washington, 70, have collaborated together on, following 1990’s Mo’ Better Blues, the 1992 biopic Malcom X, 1998’s He Got Game and — most recently — 2006’s heist thriller Inside Man.
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Highest 2 Lowest is an English-language remake of the late Japanese director Akira Kurosawa’s movie High and Low; according to Variety, A24 will release the movie in theaters following its premiere at Cannes and the film will later stream on Apple TV+.
Lee’s new movie will join Tom Cruise’s Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning among the movies premiering in Canes outside the festival’s main competition this year.
Other A-listers who will appear at the festival this year include Emma Stone, Joaquin Phoenix and Austin Butler, who will premiere their new movie with filmmaker Ari Aster, Eddington. Scarlett Johansson and Harris Dickinson will attend the festival as first-time directors as they debut their new movies Eleanor the Great and Urchin, respectively.
The Cannes Film Festival will run from May 13 to May 24.
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