Internationally acclaimed South Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook will serve as Jury President for the Feature Films Competition at the 79th edition of the Cannes Film Festival, marking a historic first for Korean cinema.
In its official statement, the Festival described Park’s body of work as foundational to contemporary cinema: “Twelve spectacular feature films have established him as one of the most fascinating figures in contemporary cinema.” The announcement further praised his artistry, noting his “inventiveness, visual mastery, and penchant for capturing the multiple impulses of women and men with strange destinies,” qualities that have produced some of the most memorable moments in modern filmmaking.
Festival President Iris Knobloch and Director Thierry Frémaux added, “We are delighted to celebrate his immense talent and, more broadly, the cinema of a country deeply engaged with the questioning of our time.”
On Saturday, May 23, at the Grand Théâtre Lumière, Park and his jury will award the 2026 Palme d’Or, succeeding last year’s winner, which was presented by Juliette Binoche to Jafar Panahi for It Was Just an Accident.
Park’s relationship with Cannes spans more than two decades. It began in 2004 when Oldboy won the Grand Prix, launching him onto the international stage. Since then, nearly all of his Competition entries have earned recognition, including Thirst (Jury Prize, 2009), The Handmaiden (2016), and Decision to Leave, which secured him the Best Director award. His presence at the Palais des Festivals has become emblematic of a deep and enduring loyalty between the filmmaker and the Festival.
Often compared to directors such as Quentin Tarantino, Brian De Palma and David Fincher for his meticulous visual composition and moral intensity, Park himself cites influences including Akira Kurosawa, Ingmar Bergman, Luchino Visconti and Alfred Hitchcock. Hitchcock’s Vertigo famously inspired his early ambition to become a director, and the English master’s stylistic imprint can be traced throughout his filmography — from Stoker to Decision to Leave.
Obsession and revenge remain defining motifs in his work. His celebrated “Vengeance Trilogy” — beginning with Sympathy for Mister Vengeance (2002), followed by Oldboy, and concluding with Lady Vengeance (2005) — cemented his global reputation for crafting cinema that is visceral, subversive and baroque, yet anchored in symbolic social commentary. His latest feature, No Other Choice (2025), continues that thematic exploration through satire and macabre humor aimed at the pressures of contemporary Korean society.
Cannes emphasized that Park’s presidency symbolizes the Festival’s long-standing commitment to Korean cinema, whose creative force has become a cornerstone of the Official Selection. From Im Kwon-taek’s historic Best Director win in 2002 to Bong Joon-ho’s Palme d’Or triumph in 2019 under the jury chaired by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Korean filmmakers have steadily reshaped the global cinematic landscape.
Actors, too, have been recognized on the Croisette, including Jeon Do-yeon and Song Kang-ho — the latter a frequent collaborator of Park’s. Together, these milestones underscore the cultural significance of his appointment.
A few months ahead of the Festival, Park reflected on the role with poetic anticipation: “The theater is dark so that we may see the light of cinema… To be enclosed in a theater to watch films, and enclosed again to engage in debate with the members of the Jury, this double, voluntary confinement is something I await with great anticipation.” He added that in an age of division, gathering in a theater to watch a film together remains “a moving and universal expression of solidarity.”
With the 79th edition approaching, Park Chan-wook’s presidency not only honors a singular filmmaker but also affirms the global stature of Korean cinema. On May 23, when the Palme d’Or is handed out under his leadership, it will mark another defining chapter in Cannes’ evolving history — and a symbolic moment for world cinema.
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