FOG BLOG ENTERTAINMENT LOG: INDIGENOUS FILM MAKER ASKED TO LEAVE RED CARPET AT CANNES !

Indigenous filmmaker says he was refused entry on Cannes red carpet for his moccasins A Dene filmmaker says he was “disappointed” and “close to tears” when security at the Cannes Film Festival blocked him from walking the red carpet while dressed in a pair of moccasins.

Kelvin Redvers, a Vancouver-based producer who attended Cannes as part of a delegation of six Indigenous filmmakers, says he was refused entry to the carpet for Valeria Bruni Tedeschi’s “Les Amandiers” last Sunday because festival staff didn’t approve of his traditional Indigenous footwear.

He says he was only allowed to walk the carpet if he swapped out his moccasins for a pair of formal shoes that Cannes deemed appropriate. Redvers obliged, but he says he hopes speaking out about his experience leads Cannes organizers to rethink what counts as formal wear when it comes to representing different cultures on their red carpets.

“Whenever there’s an opportunity — if there’s an award show or a special event — it’s really important for me to be able to bring in a bit of my Dene heritage,” he said.

“My goal was to wear my suit, and my bowtie and my Dene moccasins, which are formal, they’re cultural. And they’re still sort of elegant and classy. I had no reason to believe that they wouldn’t fit on the red carpet.”

Cannes is notoriously strict about formalwear at many of its red carpet premieres – requiring a black tie for men and evening gowns for women – however, some traditional formal wear is accommodated, such as Scottish kilts and Indian saris.

The festival once outlined some of the formalwear expectations on their website, but in recent years — after a number of controversies, including one involving women wearing flats instead of heels — the official guidelines have all but disappeared online.

Before the Sunday screening, Redvers says he gathered with his fellow filmmakers to take photos in their tuxedos and moccasins. The group, who were in Cannes with the support of Telefilm, the Indigenous Screen Office, and Capilano University’s FILMBA program, then headed to the red carpet.