Spike Lee is staying busy during quarantine. He’s gearing up for the release of his upcoming Netflix movie, Da 5 Bloods, which arrives on June 12 (and stars Chadwick Boseman, Jean Reno, Delroy Lindo, Jonathan Majors, and Paul Walter Hauser). He also dropped a new short film, which he’s often prone to do, on Instagram, and this one’s geared toward a message of survival.
As Lee explained, this movie is titled New York New York because it’s “A Love Lettter To Its People.” The acclaimed filmmaker also appeared on a Thursday night CNN town hall, where he discussed his experience living in the Big Apple during this unprecedented time. “It’s painful when you see there is nobody there,” Lee explained to Anderson Cooper and Dr. Sanjay Gupta. “But at the end of the film, that is when we see New Yorkers.”
Over the course of three whirlwind minutes, Lee’s eyes emotionally tours the deserted streets of Manhattan as people buckle down inside to ride out the virus. By the end of the short film, he moves to first responders and views of people on balconies, and the entire project feels like a shout of solidarity. New York City’s risen through the ashes before, and they’ll do so again. Watch Lee’s short film below.
https://www.instagram.com/tv/B_6DwoVnz0u/
