Cinema: Bong Joon-ho to be president of Venice jury

(ANSA) - ROME, JAN 15 - South Korea's Bong Joon-ho, the director of Parasite, was named as the president of the jury of the 78th Venice Film Festival on Friday.
    A statement said the decision was made by the Board of Directors of the La Biennale di Venezia, who confirmed the recommendation of the Director of the Venice Film Festival, Alberto Barbera.
    The jury will assign the Golden Lion for Best Film, as well as other official awards, at the 2021 festival, which runs from September 1 to 11.
    "The Venice International Film Festival carries with it a long and varied history, and I'm honored to be woven into its beautiful cinematic tradition," said Bong.
    "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 hope and excitement", Barbera described Bong as "one of the most authentic and original voices in worldwide cinema.
    "We are immensely grateful to him for having agreed to put his passion as a cinephile attentive, inquisitive, and unprejudiced, at the service of our festival," he added.
    "It is a pleasure and an honor to be able to share the joy of this moment with the countless admirers, throughout the world, of his extraordinary movies.
    "The decision to entrust the Jury to a Korean filmmaker, for the first time in the festival's history, is also confirmation that the Venetian event embraces the cinema of the entire world, and that directors from every country know they can consider Venice their second home". (ANSA).