Bong Joon-ho's 'Parasite' Unanimously Wins Cannes' Prestigious Palme d'Or Award

South Korean auteur Bong Joon-ho has unanimously won Cannes Film Festival’s most distinguished award, the Palme d’Or. Notable for the Korean film The Host, as well as the cult classic Snowpiercer and Netflix’s 2017 hit Okja, Bong has won the film festival’s most prestigious award with his forthcoming dark-comedy Parasite. Receiving an eight-minute standing ovation for his latest film, the reward remains the first for any South Korean filmmaker. Bong is known for being an unconventional director, who often infuses a variety of sociocultural and economic thematic underlays within his work.

Parasite is said to be a thrilling portrayal of social class dynamics and has been regarded as Bong’s best film in recent years. As is usual, Bong’s latest film has been described as uncategorizable, melding a variety of genres from comedy, horror, drama, slasher, murder mystery, thriller, and more. The film was pitted against a range of other formidable arthouse and Hollywood filmmakers, including Quentin Tarantino and his forthcoming Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite arrives in South Korean theaters later this week on May 30. A global release date is still pending.

For more film-related news, Taika Waititi’s Live-Action Akira will release in 2021.

And the Palme d’or winner is… #Gisaengchung by Bong Joon-Ho ✨#Cannes2019 #Awards pic.twitter.com/SQ9J1xPpFA

— Festival de Cannes (@Festival_Cannes) May 25, 2019