'Parasite' director Bong Joon Ho named while Venice Film Festival's jury president

Parasite director Bong Joon Ho has been decided on as jury president of the 78th Venice International Film Festival, organisers have declared.

The Oscar-winner will preside over seven jurors to hand out the festival’s top awards, including the prestigious Golden Lion. He’ll be the first South Korean to carry the post.

In a statement, the director explained he's, “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 trust and excitement.”

Festival director Alberto Barbera remarked after the historic nature of the choice.

“We will be immensely grateful to him for having decided to put his passion as a cinephile attentive, inquisitive and unprejudiced, at the service of our festival," Barbera said. "Your choice to entrust the Jury to a Korean filmmaker, for the first time in the festival’s history, can be confirmation that the Venetian event embraces the cinema of the complete world, and that directors out of every country know they are able to consider Venice their second home.”

The Venice Film Festival was among the only major film festivals to proceed personally last year amid the pandemic. The 78th edition is defined to perform from September 1-11.