00:00For the first time in the history of the Cannes Film Festival, a South Korean director will
00:05preside over its jury. Park Chan-wook will lead the jury of the 79th edition of the festival,
00:10taking over from French actor Juliette Binoche. Park Chan-wook has a long history at Cannes.
00:17His first participation came in 2004 when his debut feature film Old Boy won the grand
00:22prize and later became a cult classic. Many of his films went on to win awards at Cannes
00:28including Thirst, which picked up the jury prize in 2009, The Handmaiden in 2016 and Decision
00:34to Leave, which won Best Director in 2022. A champion of South Korean cinema, Park Chan-wook
00:40is only the second Asian filmmaker to head the Cannes jury, almost 20 years after Hong Kong
00:45director Wong Ka-wai.
00:47I hope that the momentum and energy we feel tonight can be sustained and that Korean cinema
00:55can open up to the world, so that Korean films can contribute to the history of world cinema
01:02and the film industry.
01:05In a joint statement, Cannes president Iris Knobloch and festival director Thierry Fremont
01:10praised his signature baroque and submersive work.
01:13Park Chan-wook's inventiveness, visual mastery and penchant for capturing the multiple impulses
01:19of women and men with strange destinies have given contemporary cinema some truly memorable
01:24moments. We're delighted to celebrate his immense talent and more broadly, the cinema
01:29of a country deeply engaged with the questioning of our time.
01:33Park Chan-wook and his jury will award the 2026 Palme d'Or on the 23rd of May at the
01:40Palais
01:40festival.
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