Academy Awards paid tribute to the late Lee Sun-kyun following SAG

The 96th Academy Awards ceremony took place on the morning of March 11th (KST) at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. The Academy Awards, which have been held since 1929, is the most prestigious award in the United States for filmmakers, voted on by Academy members who are directly involved in American film production.

A particularly noteworthy moment for Korean movie fans at this year’s Academy Awards was the “In Memoriam” segment. The “In Memoriam” segment is a stage where the past year’s deceased Hollywood actors are mentioned and their works are remembered.

During the tribute performance that began with the music “Time to Say Goodbye”, actors such as Ryan O’Neal, Matthew Perry and Ryuichi Sakamoto, who passed away last year, were mentioned. Shortly after, a scene from “Parasite” (2019, directed by Bong Joon-ho) and a photo of Lee Sun-kyun were shown in the video.

Lee Sun-kyun attended the 92nd Academy Awards ceremony as part of the team behind “Parasite”, which swept the awards for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay and Best International Feature Film, making history for Korean cinema. The following year, the Academy accepted Choi Woo-sik, Lee Jung-eun, Cho Yeo-jeong, Jang Hye-jin and Park So-dam of “Parasite” as Academy members. While Lee Sun-kyun was unfortunately not invited as an Academy member, his inclusion in the “In Memoriam” segment at this year’s Academy Awards served as another moment of remembrance from filmmakers worldwide for him.

Previously, Lee Sun-kyun was also included in the tribute performance at the 30th Screen Actors Guild Awards ceremony held last month, drawing attention.