Oscars 2020: Parasite's Bong Joon-ho beats favourite Sam Mendes to win Best Director
He becomes first South Korean filmmaker to win the award
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.In one of the biggest moments at this year's Oscars ceremony, Bong Joon-ho beat Sam Mendes to win Best Director for Parasite.
Mendes was favourite to win in the category for his First World War drama 1917, but it was Bong who reigned supreme.
Spike Lee announced the news, which caused the audience to stand on their feet to applaud the filmmaker.
Bong becomes the first South Korean filmmaker to win the award.
"After winning Best International Feature, I thought I was done fo the day and ready to relax," he quipped.
For the remainder of his acceptance speech, Bong paid tribute to his fellow directors, including Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino.
"When I was in school, I studied Martin Scorsese's films – just to be nominated was an honour; I never thought I would win."
The black comedy was the evening's biggest winner, making history by becoming the first ever foreign language film to win Best Picture.
Other winners at the 2020 ceremony included Brad Pitt, who delivered an emotional acceptance speech that saw him praise Leonardo DiCaprio and criticise the verdict of Trump's impeachment trial, while Laura Dern took home the prize for Best Supporting Actress.
As expected, Joaquin Phoenix won Best Actor for Joker following which he criticised inequality and paid tribute to his brother River Phoenix, who died in 1993.
Meanwhile, Olivia Colman had the audience in stitches before presenting Phoenix with his award.
Find a full list of the 2020 Oscar winners here.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments