Indigenous Producer Says He Was ‘Treated Like a Criminal’ for Wearing Moccasins on Cannes Red Carpet

variety.com:

Manori Ravindran International EditorAn Indigenous Canadian producer who was turned away from the Cannes red carpet for wearing traditional moccasins says he was made to feel like “a criminal” for representing his culture at the world’s foremost film festival.Vancouver-based producer Kelvin Redvers, who is a member of the Dene nation, was in line to walk the red carpet for the world premiere of Valeria Bruni Tedeschi’s “Les Amandiers” on Sunday (May 22) when he was stopped in his tracks by red carpet security.Redvers was part of a contingent of Indigenous producers who were in Cannes for the first time, pitching their projects and experiencing the festival.

The group’s trip was backed by Canadian funding org Telefilm, Toronto-headquartered Indigenous Screen Office and Capilano University’s FILMBA program.

Originally from the Northwest Territories, Redvers was in the festival’s requisite red-carpet attire of black tie but had swapped out the skate shoes he walked to the Palais des Festivals in for a pair of brown moccasins.“I was hoping to wear an example of something that would be formal for my culture, which was a beautiful pair of moccasins that were actually beaded by my sister,” says Redvers. “I was pretty excited to wear those.”But as soon as security guards spotted the moccasins, they blocked Redvers from the red carpet, and after a confused back and forth among staff, the producer was asked to leave.

Although his French-speaking colleague tried to explain that Cannes is meant to have flexibility for cultural outfits such as saris and kilts, protestations fell on deaf ears.“A fairly aggressive security guard got fed up, got right in my face and said, ‘You need to leave now.