(3rd LD) 'Parasite' wins four Oscar trophies including best picture

Movies 13:55 February 10, 2020

(ATTN: UPDATES with best picture throughout)

SEOUL, Feb. 10 (Yonhap) -- Bong Joon-ho's sensational black comedy "Parasite" has bagged four Oscar titles, including best picture and best director, to become the first non-English language film to achieve such a feat.

At the 92nd Academy Awards held at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on Sunday (U.S. local time), Bong's seventh feature film, a tale of class division, won the ceremony's highest prize -- best film.

It beat out strong competition from "1917" and "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" for the win. Other nominees were "The Irishman," "Jojo Rabbit," "Ford v Ferrari," "Little Women," "Joker," and "Marriage Story."

In this photo released by Europe's photo news agency EPA, South Korean director Bong Joon-ho accepts the best director award for "Parasite" during the 92nd annual Oscars at Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on Feb. 9, 2020. (Yonhap)

It is the first time that a non-English film has been chosen for the top Oscar award by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the more than 90 years of its history.

The film also won best director, best original screenplay and best international feature film.

Bong is the second Asian director to win the Academy's best directing award, after Taiwan's Ang Lee who won twice for "Brokeback Mountain" and "Life of Pi."

"Parasite" is also the second subtitled movie to capture the best directing and best international feature film prizes at the same time, following Alfonso Cuaron's "Roma" last year.

The top prize winner of last year's Cannes Film Festival is a family satire that depicts the entrenched social class system through the lives of two families, one rich and one poor, with Bong's unique humor and suspense.