Bong Joon-ho made history last night at the 92nd Academy Awards when Parasite became the first ever winner of Best Picture to not be in the English language.
The South Korean black comedy thriller beat out World War One epic 1917 and Joker to take the coveted award.
Bong also won the prize for Best Director, Best Original Screenplay and, unsurprisingly, Best International Film.
He became only the second person in the history of the Oscars to win four in one night, after Walt Disney in 1953.
“I feel like I’ll wake up to find it’s all a dream. It all feels very surreal.
“Just to be nominated was a huge honour. I never thought I would win,” Bong said.
Parasite has cleaned up this awards season, culminating with best picture honours at the Oscars (Image: PA Photo/Curzon Artificial Eye)
Who is Bong Joon-ho?
Bong was born in Daegu, South Korea in 1969 and first started making films in the 1990s.
In his acceptance speech, he said he has been influenced by Quentin Tarantino and Martin Scorsese.
This came full circle for Bong last night, as he defeated both to win Best Director.
He said: “When I was young and studying cinema, there was a saying that I carved deep into my heart, which is, ‘The most personal is the most creative.’ This quote is from our great Scorsese.
“When people in the US were not familiar with my films, Quentin [Tarantino] always put my films on his list. He’s here, thank you so much. Quentin, I love you.”
Bong Joon-ho poses with the Oscar for Best Screenplay for Parasite (Image: Getty Images)
Bong’s career took off when he gained international acclaim for his 2003 crime drama Memories of Murder.
His 2006 film The Host and 2013 sci-fi action film Snowpiercer gave him more international commercial success, and helped turn him into one of South Korea’s greatest ever directors.
Parasite has become by far his greatest success, winning a string of awards this winter, ending with the greatest honour in cinema – the Oscar for best film.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
