Cannes: an indigenous filmmaker excluded from the red carpet because of his moccasins

Indigenous filmmaker Kelvin Redvers claimed he was recently denied entry to the red carpet at the 75^e edition of the Cannes Film Festival because he wore moccasins, traditional shoes that he was later able to put on.

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“I grew up with my culture, and moccasins are important. I understand that there are certain rules regarding the dress code on the red carpet. So, I thought that if I wore a tuxedo, a bow tie and a piece that showed that I was Aboriginal, it would be accepted,” the Dene director, who is from the Northwest Territories, told the CBC on Saturday.

“In many cultures in Canada, moccasins are very much considered traditional and formal clothing,” he said.

Kelvin Redvers traveled to France with a delegation of Indigenous filmmakers and was invited to the film’s premiere The Almond Trees by Franco-Italian actress Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, screened on May 22.

However, officials from the festival’s security service blocked his access, the director told several major national media. He was then allowed to return to the red carpet in different shoes.

“It’s hard to digest things like that. Even now, when I think about it, it upsets me. I was disappointed, angry,” he explained, on his return to Vancouver, British Columbia.

Kelvin Redvers said he had been excited for some time to be able to wear his brown loafers, which were made by his sister.

In the hours following the incident, the director said he met with senior festival officials, who apologized and invited him to wear the loafers on the red carpet during the presentation of the film The crimes of the future by David Cronenberg, Monday.

This week, the filmmaker said on Facebook that he hopes the incident will send a message “around the world that traditional Indigenous clothing is completely acceptable in formal settings like the red carpet.”