Park Chan-wook to chair Cannes jury

Festival de Cannes said on Saturday, May 23, 2026, that Park Chan-wook will lead the jury announcing the winners of the 79th edition’s main competition at the closing ceremony in Cannes. The festival said the South Korean director, screenwriter and producer will preside over the feature-films jury as it selects the Palme d’Or and other top awards from 22 films in Competition. The ceremony is scheduled for the Palais des Festivals on the final day of the festival, which ran from May 12 to May 23. Cannes has described Park’s appointment as a first for Korean cinema. ### Why is Park Chan-wook chairing this jury now? Festival de Cannes announced in March that Park would serve as president of the jury for feature films in Competition at the 79th festival. In that announcement, Cannes said his selection marked the first time a figure from Korean cinema had presided over the main jury. The festival also said Park would return to the Grand Théâtre Lumière on May 23 to award the 2026 Palme d’Or, succeeding the 2025 winner chosen under jury president Juliette Binoche. (festival-cannes.com) Park has a long Cannes history. Festival de Cannes said he first competed there with “Old Boy,” which won the Grand Prix in 2004, and later returned with “Thirst,” which won the Jury Prize in 2009, and “Decision to Leave,” which won best director in 2022. In a festival interview published on May 14, Cannes said Park had most recently made “No Other Choice.” (festival-cannes.com) ### Who is sitting with him on the feature-films jury? Cannes named eight other jury members on May 4. The festival said Park would be joined by American actor and producer Demi Moore, Irish-Ethiopian actor and producer Ruth Negga, Belgian director and screenwriter Laura Wandel, Chinese director and screenwriter Chloé Zhao, Chilean director and screenwriter Diego Céspedes, Ivorian-American actor Isaach De Bankolé, Scottish screenwriter Paul Laverty and Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgård. (festival-cannes.com) On May 12, the jury appeared together before the international press. In that session, Cannes said the group would spend 12 days discovering, debating and deciding among the films in Competition before unveiling the winners on May 23. ### What exactly are they deciding? (festival-cannes.com) Festival de Cannes said the feature-films jury will choose the winners from 22 films in Competition. The official selection page lists titles from directors including Pedro Almodóvar, Asghar Farhadi, James Gray, Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Arthur Harari, Hirokazu Kore-eda, Cristian Mungiu, László Nemes, Pawel Pawlikowski, Ira Sachs and Andreï Zviaguintsev. (festival-cannes.com) Cannes also said the closing ceremony covers more than the Palme d’Or alone. The festival’s materials refer to the “winners list,” meaning the jury is expected to announce the full set of main Competition awards during the ceremony on Saturday evening. ### What has Park said publicly during the festival? (festival-cannes.com) Park Chan-wook said at the May 12 jury press conference that “a political film should never be considered an adversary of cinema,” according to the festival’s published account of the event. In the same account, Cannes quoted him as saying that “a political film without any true artistic dimension becomes propaganda.” (festival-cannes.com) The festival’s own profile of Park described his work as “visceral, subversive and baroque,” language Cannes has used in explaining why it chose him for the role. That description came from the festival, not from Park himself. ### What happens next at Cannes on May 23? (festival-cannes.com) Festival de Cannes said the closing ceremony takes place on Saturday, May 23, 2026, at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes. The festival also said the Palme d’Or for short film will be awarded during the same awards ceremony, after 10 shorts were selected from 3,184 submissions. Earlier on Saturday, Cannes scheduled repeat screenings of the 22 Competition films before the evening awards. (festival-cannes.com 1) (festival-cannes.com 2)