Legendary New York filmmaker Spike Lee has said his latest joint, Highest 2 Lowest, will debut at this year’s Cannes Film Festival despite being left off Thierry Frémaux’s list of official titles this morning.
Spike posted the news on his Instagram account: “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). AND DAT’S DA BOTTLES OF 🍾 🥂TRUTH,RUTH. YA-DIG❓SHO-NUFF.”
The caption was attached to a picture of Highest 2 Lowest production merch, which had the custom stitching: “Highest 2 Lowest 2 Cannes.”
Discussing the film with us at the Red Sea Film Festival in 2024, Lee said Highest 2 Lowest was not a remake but a “reinterpretation” of Akira Kurosawa’s 1963 crime thriller High and Low. The film stars Denzel Washington in his fifth collaboration with Lee. The duo previously worked together on Mo’ Better Blues, Malcolm X, He Got Game, and Inside Man.
Kurosawa’s original film follows an executive at a Yokohama shoe company who becomes a victim of extortion when his chauffeur’s son is kidnapped by mistake and held for ransom.
“In Kurosawa’s film, Toshiro Mifune is a shoemaker,” said Lee. “In our film, Denzel Washington is a music mogul with his own label and his reputation as the best ears in the business. So, this is the fifth film with the dynamic duo.”
Apple Original Films and A24 are partnering on the project, with A24 releasing the film theatrically before its global launch on AppleTV+.
Other films set for Cannes include Wes Anderson’s latest flick The Phoenician Scheme, Richard Linklater will launch his Paris-shot Nouvelle Vague, Jochim Trier debuts his latest feature Sentimental Value, and former Palme d’Or winner Julie Ducournau returns with Alpha.
Cannes will open this year with Leave One Day by first-time French filmmaker Amelie Bonin. Thierry Frémaux said this morning during his presser that it was the first time a debut film has been selected to open the festival. Also hitting the Croisette for the first time is horror auteur Ari Aster, who returns to feature filmmaking with his buzzy A24 feature Eddington.
This year’s festival runs May 13 — 24.
