U.S. Director Spike Lee was announced on Tuesday as the head jury for the Cannes Film Festival in July, making him the first black person to take the role.

The 63-year-old was supposed to perform the function at last year’s event, but it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The film-maker said he was "very humbled" by his appointment, noting that the "Cannes will always have a deep, deep spot in my heart."

Festival president Pierre Lescure in a statement Lee has been a constant source of encouragement to industry players as the world battled the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We could not have hoped for a more powerful personality to chart our troubled times," he said.

Lee exploded on to the film scene at Cannes in 1986 with "She's Gotta Have It", which took home the Youth Award.

Three years later, he was in the main competition with "Do The Right Thing", his landmark film about one sweltering day of charged race relations in Brooklyn.

"Jungle Fever" (1991), "Girl 6" (1996), "Summer of Sam" (1999), "Ten Minutes Older" (2002) have also featured at the festival.

(With input from agencies)