Lead
South Korean director Park Chan‑wook has been appointed president of the jury for the 79th Cannes Film Festival, which runs from May 12 to May 23, 2026. The festival announcement places Park at the head of a jury that will judge Competition titles at one of the world’s most closely watched film events. Park returns to Cannes after premiering four features in Competition there, including Oldboy (2004) and Decision to Leave (2022), for which he won Best Director. The appointment follows Juliette Binoche’s 2025 presidency, which awarded the Palme d’Or to Jafar Panahi for It Was Just An Accident.
Key Takeaways
- Park Chan‑wook will preside over the 79th Cannes jury from May 12–23, 2026, marking the festival’s next major leadership announcement.
- He is the first South Korean and the third Asian to serve as Cannes jury president, after Tetsurō Furukaki (1962) and Wong Kar‑wai (2006).
- Park has premiered four films in Cannes Competition: Oldboy (2004, Grand Jury Prize), Thirst (2009, Jury Prize), The Handmaiden (2016), and Decision to Leave (2022, Best Director).
- Festival leadership — Iris Knobloch and Thierry Frémaux — praised his visual inventiveness and moral rigour in composing images, linking his work to filmmakers like Tarantino and David Fincher.
- The Official Selection for the 79th edition is scheduled to be revealed in mid‑April, though the festival did not supply a specific calendar date.
- The choice underscores Cannes’ continuing recognition of South Korean cinema, which previously produced Korea’s first Cannes directing prize (Im Kwon‑taek, 2002) and a Palme d’Or (Bong Joon‑ho, Parasite).
Background
Park Chan‑wook emerged internationally in the early 2000s with a string of films that combined stylized visuals, formal rigour, and provocative themes. Oldboy, his 2004 Competition premiere, earned the Grand Jury Prize and established him as a director able to bridge art‑house and mainstream attention. Over the following two decades Park returned to Cannes with Thirst (2009), The Handmaiden (2016), and Decision to Leave (2022), securing major festival recognition including Best Director in 2022. His range — from revenge trilogy entries to cross‑genre contemporary dramas — has made him a touchstone for debates about aesthetic risk and moral complexity in cinema.
The appointment also reflects a larger trajectory for Korean film on the international festival circuit. Korean filmmakers and actors have increasingly been visible at Cannes across Competition, Un Certain Regard and Midnight Screenings programs. Notable milestones cited by the festival include Im Kwon‑taek’s Best Director award for Chi‑hwa‑seon in 2002 and Bong Joon‑ho’s Palme d’Or for Parasite, signalling both early and recent recognition. Korean titles continue to appear across sections, and Korean actors such as Jeon Do‑yeon and Song Kang‑ho have won major acting prizes, underscoring the country’s sustained presence.
Main Event
The Festival de Cannes officially announced Park’s presidency along with a statement from festival President Iris Knobloch and Director Thierry Frémaux praising his cinematic inventiveness and visual command. The organizers framed the appointment as a celebration of Park’s body of work and as evidence of the festival’s sustained engagement with Korean cinema. Cannes highlighted Park’s oeuvre — from Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance through his recent No Other Choice (2025) — as demonstrating both formal beauty and moral weight.
Park responded to the honor with remarks about cinema’s communal power, describing the darkened theater as a space where viewers’ attention and emotions align and where debate among jurors can be profoundly liberating. He emphasized gathering together to watch a single film as an act of solidarity at a time of heightened divisions. The director said he looks forward to the “double, voluntary confinement” of screening and deliberation, framing the jury’s work as an extension of shared spectatorship.
The festival also contextualized Park’s influences, noting Alfred Hitchcock’s imprint on his shot composition and the echoes of Shadow of a Doubt in films like Stoker (2013). Cannes linked Park’s formal rigor to celebrated directors and argued that his capacity to compose images that are both beautiful and ethically complex explains his resonance with international audiences and critics. The announcement did not list jury members; those names are customarily revealed closer to the festival.
Analysis & Implications
Park’s presidency is significant both symbolically and practically. Symbolically, it reiterates Cannes’ ongoing effort to position itself as an international arbiter that recognizes non‑Western auteurs at the highest level, reinforcing the festival’s diversity credentials. Practically, a jury led by Park could bring renewed attention to formally inventive films and directors who foreground moral ambiguity and visual composition; his own filmmaking sensibilities may influence deliberations about craft and narrative risk.
For Korean cinema the appointment is another high‑profile confirmation of its global influence. Park becomes a visible conduit between Korean film communities and international festivals, which can amplify distribution, co‑production opportunities and market interest in films from the region. Festivals, buyers and distributors monitor jury leadership closely because presidents can shape the profile of awarded films and, consequently, festival marketplace dynamics during and after Cannes.
There are also artistic and diplomatic dimensions. Festival presidencies are soft‑power moments for national cinemas, and Park’s selection follows a string of Korean successes that have altered perceptions of South Korea’s cultural reach. Yet the role is not promotional; presidents must judge a slate impartially and may need to navigate conflicts of interest if former collaborators appear in Competition. How Park balances personal aesthetics with juror diversity will be watched by critics and industry insiders alike.
Comparison & Data
| Year | Title | Cannes Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Oldboy | Grand Jury Prize (Competition) |
| 2009 | Thirst | Jury Prize (Competition) |
| 2016 | The Handmaiden | Competition premiere |
| 2022 | Decision to Leave | Best Director (Competition) |
The table summarizes Park’s Cannes Competition record, illustrating a two‑decade relationship with the festival and multiple major honors. Below that, Korea’s milestone achievements at Cannes — including Im Kwon‑taek’s Best Director (2002) and Bong Joon‑ho’s Palme d’Or (2019) — provide context for why the appointment carries national as well as personal significance. These data points help explain the festival’s framing of Park both as an individual artist and as a representative figure for contemporary Korean cinema.
Reactions & Quotes
Festival leaders framed Park’s selection as recognition of sustained artistic achievement and a touchstone for the festival’s ongoing cinematic priorities.
“Park Chan‑wook’s inventiveness, visual mastery, and penchant for capturing the multiple impulses of women and men with strange destinies have given contemporary cinema some truly memorable moments.”
Festival de Cannes — Iris Knobloch & Thierry Frémaux (official statement)
The director’s own comment emphasized the communal nature of filmgoing and the moral dimension of shared spectatorship as a counterpoint to social division.
“The theater is dark so that we may see the light of cinema… In this age of mutual hatred and division, I believe that the simple act of gathering in a theater to watch a single film together… is itself a moving and universal expression of solidarity.”
Park Chan‑wook (response to Cannes announcement)
Unconfirmed
- The festival has not announced jury members; any names circulating in trade press are unverified until Cannes publishes the list.
- The exact mid‑April date for the Official Selection reveal was not specified by the festival and remains pending confirmation.
Bottom Line
Park Chan‑wook’s selection as president of the 2026 Cannes jury is both a personal milestone and a broader signal about the festival’s ongoing engagement with Korean cinema. His appointment highlights a continuity of artistic exchange between Cannes and non‑Western auteurs that has grown in visibility over the past two decades. For filmmakers, distributors and critics, Park’s presidency will be a focal point during the festival: his aesthetic priorities and leadership style could influence which films receive the highest honors and the attendant market attention.
As Cannes prepares to unveil its Official Selection in mid‑April, attention will shift to the full jury roster and the Competition lineup. Observers should watch how the festival balances geographic diversity, formal experimentation and established auteurs in 2026; Park’s role at the center of those conversations makes this edition one to follow closely.