Oscars 2020: 'Parasite' bags Academy Award for Best International Feature Film, first to win in this category
'Parasite' has scored the Oscar for Best International Feature Film at the 92nd Academy Awards ceremony held at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California on February 9.
The South Korean film has beaten 'Les Misérables' (French), 'Corpus Christi' (Polish-French), 'Pain and Glory' (Spanish), and 'Honeyland' (Macedonian) to win the prestigious accolade. The award was presented by actress Penelope Cruz.
This is the first South Korean film to win an Oscar in this category. 'Parasite' was also nominated for four BAFTA awards, winning two and the film also won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay along with the Best Picture category. "The category has a new name now from best foreign-language film to best international feature film," Bong Joon-ho, the movie's director, said in his acceptance speech. "I'm so glad to be the first winner under the new name."
He also applauded the Academy for incorporating this change and for the change in perspective that it symbolizes.
'Parasite' tells the story of the relationship between two families, the wealthy Park family and the destitute Kim clan. It is an intense story of class conflict, greed, and the effects of these things on real human relationships.
The movie was directed by Bong Joon-ho and produced by Kwak Sin-ae, Moon Yang-kwon, Bong Joon-ho, and Jang Young-hwan. The film features Song Kang-ho, Jang Hye-jin, Lee Jung-eun, and Choi Woo-shik as leading cast members.
'Parasite' was released in theaters in the US on October 11, 2019.
It was originally released in South Korea on May 30 and had its world premiere at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival on May 21.