Park Chan-wook of “Decision to Leave” won best director, while Song Kang-ho of “Broker” won best actor at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.
While the two wins come after Bong Joon-“Parasite” ho’s won the Palme d’Or in 2019, this year’s festival is important since it is the first time two Korean films have won at the same time at one of the three most prestigious European cinema competitions — Cannes, Venice, and Berlin.
In 1984, the first Korean film was screened at the Cannes Film Festival.
The black-and-white film “Spinning Wheel” by Lee Doo-young was screened in the Un Certain Regard sidebar. During the patriarchal Joseon Dynasty, the historical drama focuses on women.
With “Chihwaseon,” also known as “Painted Fire,” famed director Im Kwon-taek, nicknamed “the father of Korean cinema” by critics, brought home the country’s first-ever trophy from Cannes in 2002. Jang Seung-eop, a 19th-century Korean painter who was in the forefront of developments in the Korean arts scene, is the subject of the film.