Cannes, France (CNN) — Spike Lee and Denzel Washington have walked a long road together. The director and actor’s collaboration has run for 35 years, starting with “Mo’ Better Blues” and including the seminal “Malcolm X.” But one thing they’ve never done is ascend the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival as comrades in arms.

That changed on Monday night as Spike Lee unrolled his new joint on the Croisette. The premiere of “Highest 2 Lowest,” their fifth film together, marked Washington’s first time as a lead actor at Cannes, and the first time he’s hit the festival since 1993’s “Much Ado About Nothing.”

Sensing the occasion, general delegate Thierry Fremaux announced ahead of the screening the festival would award the actor an honorary Palme d’Or. Cue a highlights reel of the two-time

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