Cannes Film Festival jury president Park Chan-wook says he doesn’t feel politics and art are in conflict with each other

The acclaimed director behind films like Oldboy and No Other Choice said in the press conference that artistic expression can carry political weight.

The 79th Cannes Film Festival goes up at the Palais des Festivals from May 12 this year. South Korean director Park Chan-wook, who heads the jury that awards the Palme d'Or, the top prize at Cannes, has defended the role of politics in film. (Also read: ‘Shame on Hollywood’: Cannes jury member Paul Laverty calls out industry for blacklisting actors who oppose war in Gaza)

President of the jury South Korean director Park Chan-wook arrives on stage during the Opening Ceremony at the 79th edition of the Cannes Film Festival. (Photo by Sameer AL-DOUMY / AFP) (AFP)

What Park Chan-wook said

During the press conference, the director embraced the political dimension in films. He said, “I don’t think politics and art should be divided. I think it’s a strange concept to think that they’re in conflict with each other. Just because a work of art has a political statement, it should not be considered an enemy of art. At the same time, just because a film is not making a political statement, that film should not be ignored.”

He went on to add, “Even if we are to make a brilliant political statement, if it’s not expressed artfully enough, it would just be propaganda. So what I want to say is that art and politics are not concepts that are in conflict with each other, as long as they are artistically expressed, they are valuable.”

(From L) Members of the jury Irish-Ethiopian actress and producer Ruth Negga, Ivorian actor Isaach De Bankole, Chinese director Chloe Zhao, US actress and producer Demi Moore, South Korean director and producer Park Chan-Wook, Belgian director and writer Laura Wandel, Chilean director and screenwriter Diego Cespedes, Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgard and British writer Paul Laverty arrive for the Opening Ceremony and the screening of the film "La Venus electrique" (The Electric Kiss) at the 79th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France, on May 12, 2026. (Photo by Sameer AL-DOUMY / AFP) (AFP)

The other members of the jury for the main competition are Demi Moore, Ruth Negga, Laura Wandel, Chloé Zhao, Diego Céspedes, Isaach de Bankolé, Paul Laverty, and Stellan Skarsgård.

The debate over art and politics began earlier this year at the Berlin Film Festival over jury president Wim Wenders’ remarks that cinema should “stay out of politics”. When the German director was asked about his country’s support for Israel's military actions in the Palestinian territory of Gaza, he said: "We cannot really enter the field of politics", and described filmmakers as "the counterweight to politics". The comments led to immense backlash, with Arundhati Roy withdrawing from making a presence at the festival.

Meanwhile, the Cannes Film Festival opened with the world premiere of Pierre Salvadori’s The Electric Kiss, screening out of competition. The jury will be responsible for judging on the 22 films in competition. They will be deciding the ones who will eventually win the Palme d’Or, as well as the Grand Prix, Jury Prize, Best Director, Best Actress, and Best Actor. The winners will be revealed at the closing ceremony on May 23. New films by Pedro Almodóvar, Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Paweł Pawlikowski, Cristian Mungiu and Andrey Zvyagintsev are in contention.