The film by the director Bong Joon-ho is the first South Korean film to win the top honor at the Cannes Film Festival.
The Palme d’Or, the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival, was awarded Saturday to “Parasite,” a ferocious satire and critical favorite from the South Korean director Bong Joon-ho.
“I never imagined this,” Mr. Bong said, accepting the award. This is the first time that a South Korean movie has won the Palme d’Or. Sylvester Stallone, who was honored at the festival, presented the Grand Prix, or second prize, to the French-Senegalese filmmaker Mati Diop for her feature debut “Atlantics.” Ms. Diop is the first black woman to have a movie in the main competition.
The streamlined awards ceremony was quick and almost painless. The main competition jury was led by the Mexican director Alejandro González Iñárritu, who said from the stage that while “democracy is disappearing” the jury was still very democratic. Its prizes included a “special mention” for “It Must Be Heaven,” an existential comedy from the Palestinian director Elia Suleiman.
