Park Chan-wook named president of jury for 79th Cannes Film Festival.

Key facts

• South Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook will preside over the 79th Cannes Film Festival scheduled for 12-23 May 2026.
• He becomes the first Korean and the third Asian to serve as Cannes jury president, after Japan’s Tetsurō Furukaki in 1962 and Hong Kong’s Wong Kar-wai in 2006.
• Park has premiered four films in Competition at Cannes: Oldboy (2004), Thirst (2009), The Handmaiden (2016), and Decision to Leave (2022).
• His Cannes accolades include the Grand Jury Prize for Oldboy, the Jury Prize for Thirst, and Best Director for Decision to Leave.
• Festival President Iris Knobloch and Director Thierry Frémaux praised his inventiveness and visual mastery in the announcement.