Bong Joon-ho returns to Cannes, makes opening remarks in Korean

The director said he had been "at home working on my [script] when I got a call from Cannes artistic director Thierry Fremaux"

South Korean filmmaker Bong Joon-ho poses for a photo at the 74th Cannes Film Festival on Tuesday. (AFP/Yonhap News)

Film director Bong Joon-ho made an appearance Tuesday afternoon in the southern French resort town of Cannes. It was his first time there in two years and two months since his 2019 film “Parasite” won the Palme d’Or, the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival.

“Maybe the festival had a break, but cinema never stopped. Cinema continues to advance like the train in the film of the Lumiere brothers,” Bong said in his surprise appearance at the opening of the 74th Cannes Film Festival.

His words read as a message of comfort to film professionals all over the world who have been faced with difficulties due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodovar, Hollywood actress Jodie Foster, Bong Joon-ho and Cannes jury leader Spike Lee (from left to right) deliver opening remarks at the 74th Cannes Film Festival on Tuesday (AFP/Yonhap News)

Bong also shared a Korean-language message declaring the festival underway at the opening ceremony that day. Joining him on stage to announce the opening of the world’s biggest film festival — in French, Spanish, and English, respectively — were Hollywood actor Jodie Foster, Spanish film director Pedro Almodovar, and film director and Cannes jury leader Spike Lee.

Bong’s attendance of the ceremony was only learned about on the day of the event. The director said he had been “at home working on my [script] when I got a call from Cannes artistic director Thierry Fremaux.”

Hollywood actor Jodie Foster and Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodovar pose for a photo after Foster is awarded an honorary Palme d’Or at the 74th Cannes Film Festival on Tuesday. Almodovar presented the award to Foster. (AFP/Yonhap News)

Fremaux talked about the unfortunate one-time cancellation of the festival due to COVID-19 last year, and asked him to join in bridging the gap, Bong said.

“Seeing you here, I feel there hasn’t been a break at all,” he continued, adding that the presence of so many great filmmakers and artists at the festival that day offered proof of that.

South Korean actor Song Kang-ho arrives at the premiere of “Annette” at the 74th Cannes Film Festival on Tuesday as a member of the festival’s jury. (AFP/Yonhap News)

Song Kang-ho, the lead actor in “Parasite,” had previously taken the stage for the opening ceremony that day after being invited as a member of the festival’s jury. The actor laughed cheerfully and applauded when Bong appeared.

By Oh Seung-hun, staff reporter

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