Bong Joon Ho tapped to lead jury at Venice International Film Festival

Parasite director Bong Joon Ho is heading to Italy to head up the jury for the 2021 Venice International Film Festival.

The South Korean Oscar winner will lead the seven-person group tasked with determining the winners of the competition prizes, including the Golden Lion for Best Film.

"Venice International Film Festival carries with it a long and varied history, and I'm honoured to be woven into its beautiful cinematic tradition," he shared in a statement.

"As president of the jury - and more importantly as a perpetual cinephile - I'm ready to admire and applaud all the great films selected by the festival. I'm filled with genuine hope and excitement."

Praising the filmmaker as "one of the most authentic and original voices in worldwide cinema", festival director Alberto Barbera added: "We are immensely grateful to him for having agreed to put his passion as a cinephile attentive, inquisitive, and unprejudiced, at the service of our festival."

Cate Blanchett served as the jury president for the 2020 event, which was still held in-person last year, although with a scaled-back programme due to the ongoing Covid-19 crisis.

The 78th Venice International Film Festival is scheduled to take place from 1 to 11 September.