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Rabat – South Korean director Bong Joon Ho, whose films reshaped modern cinema, will preside over the jury of the 22nd edition of the Marrakech International Film Festival, held from November 28 to December 6.
The jury awards the Étoile d’Or to one of the 14 feature films selected for the international competition, a section devoted to discovering the first or second works of filmmakers from across the world.
“For many years, Marrakech has been a champion of fresh, beautiful films. I am delighted and honored to be part of that tradition. I look forward to sharing a powerful cinematic experience with the festival audience and reflecting on the true value of cinema,” Bong said in a press statement after his appointment.
Bong Joon Ho arrives in Marrakech with a reputation as one of the most inventive filmmakers of his generation.
His work, playful and piercing, has unsettled genre conventions while addressing deep social divisions.
With “Parasite”, he became the first non-English-speaking director to win the Academy Award for Best Picture, a triumph that confirmed his ability to move between local stories and universal questions with ease.
Each of his films leaves a distinct imprint: “Memories of Murder” interrogates a still-unsolved case against the backdrop of authoritarian rule; “The Host” reinvents the monster film while exposing family bonds and state failures; “Mother” portrays love stretched to its most desperate edge; “Snowpiercer” stages humanity’s survival on a frozen train ruled by class hierarchy; “Okja” follows a child’s battle against corporate greed; and “Parasite” dismantles illusions of class mobility with surgical precision.
His latest work, Mickey 17, continues his exploration of human fragility and power through a science-fiction lens.
The Marrakech festival, which has welcomed filmmakers from every continent for more than 20 years, now hosts a director whose influence reaches far beyond the screen.
Bong’s presence as jury president sets the stage for an edition that places reflection on cinema’s role at its center, while giving Moroccan and international audiences a chance to engage with one of the defining voices of world cinema today.
This year also confirms his stature beyond the festival circuit. The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles opened Director’s Inspiration: Bong Joon Ho in March 2025, the first major exhibition dedicated to his work, which runs until 2027.
The meeting between Bong Joon Ho and Marrakech promises an encounter between a city that has become a crossroad of global cinema and an artist whose vision continues to shape it.
