Song Kang-ho

Having turned the police procedural on its head with the magnificent Memories of Murder, director Bong Joon Ho looked to the kaiju movie for his next genre recalibration. A supremely entertaining monster mash, The Host marries political satire to family drama in an action extravaganza for the ages.

Lee Chang-dong found breakout international acclaim with this searing portrayal of unimaginable loss and the fallacies of religious comfort. Featuring an astonishing performance from Cannes Best Actress-winner Jeon Do-yeon, Secret Sunshine marked Lee as one of South Korean cinema’s leading lights.