Denzel Washington came to the festival in Cannes and the premiere of the film "Highest 2 lowest", where he has one of the roles.
But it turned out not to be the only reason why the organizers wanted him on site. Before the film got started, the Cannes festival president Thierry Frémaux came up on stage and handed over the honorary prize, together with the film's director Spike Lee.
A visibly moved – and surprised – Washington received the prize.
The film festival in Cannes awards one or more honorary Golden Palms every year. Last week, Robert De Niro received an honorary prize, which was announced in advance.
This came more surprisingly, even for Denzel Washington, who is currently playing "Othello" in New York and flew to Cannes on his day off.
