The Venice International Film Festival confirmed on their website that Parasite and Oscar winning director Bong Joon Ho will be president of the the International Jury of the Competition for the 2021 festival. This jury will decide a slew of awards including the Golden Lion for best film.
Bong said in a statement accepting the role, “The Venice International Film Festival carries with it a long and varied history, and I’m honored to be woven into its beautiful cinematic tradition. As president of the jury – and more importantly as a perpetual cinephile – I’m ready to admire and applaud all the great films selected by the festival. I’m filled with genuine hope and excitement.”
The director made history last year with his film Parasite becoming the first foreign-language film to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards. That film aside, Bong has created fascinating films from creature features to deep character studies, all while creating a wonderfully vivid world for each of his films. Memories of Murder(2003), Mother(2009), and Snowpiercer(2013) are just a few in a line of his fantastic work.
This year’s festival will run from September 1 until September 11, 2021.
Alberto Barbera, director of the festival, describes Bong best, “Today, this great Korean director is one of the most authentic and original voices in worldwide cinema. We are immensely grateful to him for having agreed to put his passion as a cinephile attentive, inquisitive, and unprejudiced, at the service of our festival.”
Currently Bong Joon Ho’s latest film, Parasite is streaming on Hulu, while the rest of his filmography is scattered on several streaming services.
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