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Cannes journalist's remark at 'Hope' press conference draws accusations of racism

Published: 21 May. 2026, 22:15 Updated: 22 May. 2026, 09:08

LIM JEONG-WON
[email protected]

The cast of director Na Hong-jin's new film ″Hope″ attend a press conference for the film during the 79th annual Cannes Film Festival, in Cannes, France, on May 18. From left, actors Michael Fassbender, Alicia Vikander, Hwang Jung-min and director Na. [EPA/YONHAP]

Anticipation for director Na Hong-jin’s new film “Hope,” currently in competition at Cannes Film Festival, has been stained with negativity as a journalist’s question during the official press conference drew accusations of racism against cast members.

During the press conference earlier on Monday, a journalist, speaking in English and not having identified herself or her outlet, opened by addressing Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander by first name, and added, “I don’t know the rest of you.”

Seated next to the Hollywood actors Fassbender and Vikander were director Na, Korean leads Hwang Jung-min, Zo In-sung and Jung Ho-yeon, and Canadian actress Taylor Russell, who has Jamaican heritage.

Footage circulating on Korean social media shows Jung and Russell exchanging an awkward glance as Hwang and Zo sit stone-faced while the question is being asked.

The same journalist then asked — without naming Na, referring to him only as “the director” — whether Fassbender and Vikander, who are married, had been cast as a “package” so that the production could pay them as one.

Actors Jung Ho-yeon and Taylor Russell attend a press conference for ″Hope″ during the 79th annual Cannes Film Festival, in Cannes, France, on May 18. [EPA/YONHAP]

Na, visibly flustered, replied that he had approached and persuaded each actor separately. He added that Fassbender was among the actors he most admired.

The exchange has since spread widely on Korean social platforms, with commenters condemning what they called overt racism on an international stage. Some noted that Russell, who is not white, was also passed over in the greeting from the journalist in question.

The press conference came a day after “Hope,” Na's first film in a decade following “The Wailing” (2016), premiered in competition to a roughly seven-minute standing ovation. The film holds an average rating of 2.8 in Screen Daily’s jury grid, currently the third-highest score among competition titles rated.

BY LIM JEONG-WON [[email protected]]