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“Parasite” director Bong Joon-ho was selected as the jury president for the 78th Venice International Film Festival, organizers said Friday.
The Oscar-winning filmmaker will lead a seven-member jury that will present the event’s top prizes, including the prestigious Golden Lion. He will be the first South Korean to hold that position.
“I am honored to be woven into this beautiful film tradition. As president of the jury – and more importantly, as a perpetual movie buff – I am ready to admire and applaud all the wonderful films selected by the festival. I am full of hope and excitement, ”the director said in a statement.
The festival director, Alberto Barbera, highlighted the historical nature of the selection.
“We are immensely grateful to him for agreeing to put his passion as an attentive, curious and impartial moviegoer at the service of our festival,” said Barbera. “The decision to entrust the jury to a Korean filmmaker, for the first time in the festival’s history, is also a confirmation that the Venetian event welcomes cinema from around the world, and that directors from every country know that they can consider Venice their second home”.
The Venice Film Festival was one of the only major film festivals to proceed in person last year amid the pandemic. The 78th edition is scheduled for September 1-11.