Parasite charts Oscars history as first-ever South Korean nominee

Pic: Instagram/@neonrated

The viral fever of Bong Joon Ho's Parasite has now gripped the Academy Awards with the South Korean class satire scripting history by becoming the first film from the country to bag a best picture nomination. Interestingly, the six nods, including best international feature, best director for Bong and best original screenplay, come in the 100th year of Korean cinema.

This year's most talked about foreign language film, Parasite is tipped to not only win the best international feature, but may also surprise by walking away with the best director, original screenplay and the top award of the best picture at Oscars.

Bong, who has been active in both South Korean and Hollywood spheres, first burst onto the international scene with Memories of Murder and is known for flirting with genres with his signature love for chaos, drama and flawed characters in films such as Snowpiercer, Okja, The Host and Mother.

A festival favourite since it won the Palme d'Or at Cannes Film Festival last May, Parasite is one of those rare foreign films to be embraced by audiences across cultures, a feat similar what Alfonso Cuaron achieved with his Spanish language drama Roma.

Parasite recently won the Golden Globe for best foreign-language film but Bong took a swipe at the self-absorbed Hollywood shows with his short acceptance address.

Once you overcome the 1-inch-tall barrier of subtitles, you will be introduced to so many more amazing films. I think we use just one language ¿ the cinema, said the director via his translator, though he is reasonably fluent in English.

Also read: Oscars 2020: Here's the complete list of nominees

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