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‘Parasite’ from South Korea makes Oscar history with best picture win

Los Angeles
Reuters

South Korean social satire Parasite won the Oscar for best picture on Sunday, making history as the first film not in the English language to win the movie industry’s highest honour.

Parasite, about the gap between rich and poor in modern Seoul, won a total of four Oscars, including best director and screenplay for Bong Joon Ho and best international feature.

Oscars Parasite

Kwak Sin Ae and Bong Joon-ho win the Oscar for Best Picture for “Parasite” at the 92nd Academy Awards in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, US, on 9th February. PICTURE: Reuters/Mario Anzuoni

“I never thought I would win,” Bong said while accepting his best director Oscar. Paying tribute to his four fellow director nominees he said, “I would like to get a Texas chainsaw and split the Oscar into five and share it all with you.”

Joaquin Phoenix won his first Oscar, for best actor, for playing a failing clown who finds fame in violence in the dark comic-book tale Joker, and gave an impassioned speech about climate change and animal rights.

Renee Zellweger won the best actress Oscar for her performance as an ageing Judy Garland in the musical biopic Judy.

World War One movie 1917 won three Oscars, for its stunning “one-shot” feel cinematography, for visual effects and for sound editing, while Once Upon a Time in Hollywood brought the first acting Oscar for Brad Pitt, who played a supporting role as a laid-back stunt man.

Laura Dern took the supporting actress Oscar, her first Academy Award, for playing a ruthless divorce lawyer in Marriage Story.

Netflix movie The Irishman, a costly Mafia saga directed by Martin Scorsese that had 10 Oscar nominations, came away empty-handed.

– Additional reporting by MARIA CASPANI, LISA RICHWINE and NICHOLA GROOM

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