Park Chan-wook Named Cannes Film Festival 2026 Jury President

The Cannes Film Festival has chosen its adjacent leader. South Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook will service arsenic nan Jury President for nan 79th version of nan festival, which runs from May 12 to May 23, 2026.

Park takes complete from past year’s president, Juliette Binoche. His assignment is simply a milestone, marking nan first clip a Korean filmmaker has held nan position. He joins a mini group of Asian presidents that includes Wong Kar-wai and Tetsurō Furukaki.

Festival President Iris Knobloch and Director Thierry Frémaux praised nan director’s “visual mastery” and his expertise to seizure “strange destinies” connected screen. They noted that his activity has provided immoderate of nan astir memorable moments successful modern cinema.

A History of Success astatine Cannes

Park is nary alien to nan Palais des Festivals. His history pinch Cannes goes backmost to 2004, erstwhile his breakout deed Oldboy took location nan Grand Prix. Since that debut, he has been a predominant victor astatine nan event.

His 2009 vampire thriller Thirst won nan Jury Prize, and he earned nan Best Director grant successful 2022 for Decision to Leave. Other acclaimed entries see The Handmaiden (2016) and his astir caller project, No Other Choice (2025).

The show drew parallels betwixt Park and legendary filmmakers for illustration Quentin Tarantino and David Fincher. They highlighted his “formal beauty” and “moral rigor,” qualities that person defined his profession since he was first inspired to go a head aft seeing Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo.

Read more: Park Chan-wook astatine nan BFI IMAX: The Director connected Paper, Power, and nan Body successful nan Bonsai Wire

In a connection regarding his caller role, Park focused connected nan communal powerfulness of watching movies. He described nan theatre arsenic a spot wherever “our souls whitethorn beryllium liberated done nan model of film.”

“In this property of communal hatred and division, I judge that nan elemental enactment of gathering successful a theatre to watch a azygous movie together, our breaths and heartbeats aligning, is itself a moving and cosmopolitan look of solidarity,” Park said.

He admitted that he looks guardant to nan “voluntary confinement” of nan assemblage room, wherever he will statement nan merits of nan world’s champion caller films pinch his chap jurors.

South Korea’s Global Influence

The determination to name Park besides signals nan festival’s long-standing admiration for South Korean cinema. The state has a rich | history astatine Cannes, from Im Kwon-taek’s Best Director triumph successful 2002 to Bong Joon-ho’s historical Palme d’Or for Parasite successful 2019.

Acting talent from nan region has besides been recognized, pinch Jeon Do-yeon winning Best Actress and Song Kang-ho winning Best Actor successful past years. The charismatic movie lineup for nan 2026 show will beryllium announced successful mid-April.