'Cannes Shim Sa-wi (Director)' Park Chan-wook: "Politics and art cannot be separated... ready to judge without prejudice" [Comprehensive]

*This content was translated by AI.

Director Park Chan-wook stated at the opening press conference of the Cannes International Film Festival that "politics and art cannot be separated."

On the 11th (local time), Director Park Chan-wook, who is heading the competition section Shim Sa-wi (Director) of the 79th Cannes International Film Festival, attended the opening press conference.

Director Park Chan-wook said, "I do not believe that politics and art should be separated," adding, "It is strange to think that the two are in conflict."

He continued, "Just because an artistic work carries a political message, it should not be regarded as an enemy of art," and "Conversely, just because a film does not carry a political message, it should not be ignored."

He emphasized, "No matter how excellent the political message may be, if it is not sufficiently expressed artistically, it will ultimately amount to mere propaganda." He also added, "I am ready to watch films with the expectation of being surprised, viewing them with the eyes of a pure audience, free from any prejudice or stereotypes."

These remarks come three months after the 76th Berlin International Film Festival held in February this year. At that time, Wim Wenders, the German master director who served as Shim Sa-wi (Director) of the film festival, stated, "Filmmakers should keep their distance from politics. If we intentionally make political films, they enter the realm of politics."

The remarks immediately sparked strong backlash, and 92 figures in the film industry, including actors Javier Bardem and Tilda Swinton, released an open letter condemning the festival's organizational silence regarding the war in the Gaza Strip.

Meanwhile, Director Park Chan-wook will judge the competition entries alongside American actors Demi Moore and Isaac de Bankolé, Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgård, Irish actor Ruth Negga, Chinese director Chloe Zhao, Belgian director Laura Wandel, Chilean director Diego Sepúlveda, and Scottish screenwriter Paul Laverty.

Notably, Director Park Chan-wook has become the first Korean to serve as Shim Sa-wi (Director) of the Cannes Film Festival. In an interview with AFP, he said, "There was a long period when Korean films were treated as if they were on the periphery of the film world, but even in that era, there were excellent directors and actors in Korea." He added, "As time has passed and Korea is now playing a role as one of the centers of world cinema, I believe this is a move appropriate for such an era."

He further stated, "Awards should be given to works that will remain 50 or 100 years from now. This is a contribution to informing the world which films are important in our era, and ideally, I hope that historians in the future will confirm that this judgment was correct."

The Cannes Film Festival, which opened on the afternoon of the 12th, will continue until the 23rd.

This year, the new film 'Hope' directed by Na Hong-jin has entered the competition section of the Cannes International Film Festival among Korean films. This marks the first time since 2022, when Director Park Chan-wook's 'Decision to Leave' and Hirokazu Kore-eda's 'Broker' entered the competition section of the Cannes International Film Festival, that a Korean film has been selected for the competition section.

The film 'COLONY', directed by Yeon Sang-ho and starring Jeon Ji-hyun, Koo Kyo-hwan, and Ji Chang-wook, has entered the Midnight Screening section, and 'Dora' by director Jung Ju-ri has also been invited to the Directors' Fortnight.

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*This content was translated by AI.