Park Chan-wook, President of the Jury of the 79th Cannes Film Festival -

Park Chan-wook © LEE Seung-hee

Park Chan-wook, a visionary filmmaker of radical elegance, will preside over the Jury of the 79th Cannes Film Festival – the crowning achievement of a destiny forever linked to the Croisette.

Cannes Film Festival 2026 : Next May, La Croisette will pulse under the gaze of a master of contemporary cinema. South Korean director Park Chan-wook has been chosen to preside over the Jury for the 79th edition of the Cannes Film Festival, becoming the first Korean filmmaker to hold this prestigious position. This is a powerful symbol for both the Festival and global cinema, marking the culmination of a deep artistic relationship between this singular creator and La Croisette.

©YesICannes.com

Park Chan-wook’s Style: Between Beauty and Vertigo

Visceral, sophisticated, haunting: Park Chan-wook’s cinema never leaves one indifferent. His films explore the darkest corners of the human soul, where obsession, desire, vengeance, and redemption collide. Each frame is composed like a pictorial masterpiece; each narrative navigates between poetry and violence. Often compared to masters like Quentin Tarantino or Alfred Hitchcock, Park Chan-wook champions a sensory cinema where aesthetics sublimate human torment. In his world, beauty does not comfort: it unsettles, fascinates, and enthralls.

Quentin Tarentino ©YesICannes.com

A Long-Standing Love Affair with Cannes

Park Chan-wook entered Cannes legend in 2004 with Oldboy, which was awarded the Grand Prix. This hypnotic thriller marked a turning point in his career and established his name on the international stage. Since then, Cannes has accompanied every major milestone of his journey: the Jury Prize for Thirst (2009); the Official Selection for The Handmaiden (2016); and the Best Director Award for Decision to Leave in 2022. This long-standing loyalty bears witness to an almost intimate bond between the artist and the Festival.

The Filmmaker Who Redefined Korean Cinema

Even before his international success, Park Chan-wook had made his mark at home with Joint Security Area, which in 2000 became the biggest box-office hit in Korean history. His famous “Vengeance Trilogy” – beginning with Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, continuing with Oldboy, and concluding with Lady Vengeance – redefined the codes of the contemporary thriller. More recently, works such as The Handmaiden or his latest satirical film, No Other Choice (2025), explore social fractures, power dynamics, and modern illusions. His cinema does not merely tell stories: it dissects society.

The Face of a Korean Cultural Revolution

The appointment of Park Chan-wook symbolizes the spectacular rise of South Korean cinema on the world stage – a movement initiated by bold authors and crowned in 2019 when Bong Joon-ho won the Palme d’Or for Parasite, marking a historic turning point. Today, Korea stands as one of the most creative laboratories of contemporary cinema, and Park Chan-wook is one of its primary architects.

©Festival de Cannes

Cannes 2026: A Jury Guided by Rigor and Sensitivity

For Park Chan-wook, cinema remains an essential collective experience. He describes the darkened theater as a place where “the soul is liberated through the window that is the film,” a space where spectators share emotion and humanity. His presidency promises a bold list of winners, guided by artistic rigor and emotional power. Beyond the awards, Cannes celebrates, above all, a vision of the world.

A Cinema that Dares, Disturbs, and Reveals

At the head of the Jury in 2026, Park Chan-wook embodies more than ever a cinema that dares, disturbs, and reveals. On the Croisette, all eyes will be on him. Cinema, once again, will write history, and on May 23, 2026, on the stage of the Grand Théâtre Lumière, Park Chan-wook will present the Palme d’Or to one of the films in competition, succeeding last year’s winner, A Simple Accident by Iranian director Jafar Panahi.