Spike Lee (Do the Right Thing, Malcolm X, BlacKkKlansman) took a brief break from his work as the president of the main competition jury at the fourth edition of the Red Sea International Film Festival (Rsiff) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, sharing industry and career insights during an “In Conversation With” session and talking about being in post-production on his fifth film with Denzel Washington.

He calls his partnership with the actor “the dynamic Duo of D and Lee,” the legendary filmmaker told a crowd in Jeddah Old Town Al-Balad that was hanging on his every word amid growth in Saudi production activity and box office. “We are brothers. … We just do our thing.” Despite a long “gap” between working together, namely 18 years since Inside Man, he shared that it didn’t feel that way once they were on set. “We are familiar with each other. Also, our families are very tight.