Miky Lee, vice chair of Korean media giant CJ, is set to give the USC School of Cinematic Arts 2024 commencement address, organizers said Tuesday.
As a pioneer of the Korean movie wave, Lee has championed Korean directors like Park Chan-wook and Bong Joon Ho, and has executive producer credits that include Lady Vengeance, The Host, Snowpiercer, The Handmaiden and Parasite, the latter of which was the first non-English-language film to win the Oscar for best picture.
She will give the commencement address at the graduation ceremony set for May 10 at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles.
“Miky Lee is a true pioneer and ambassador of collaborative global filmmaking, and we are so happy to have her share her insight and expertise with our graduating students,” Elizabeth M. Daley, dean of the USC School of Cinematic Arts, said in a statement.
Organizers also announced that the veteran Hollywood director, writer and SCA alum James Gray will receive the Mary Pickford Alumni Award at the graduation ceremony. Gray graduated from the school with a degree in cinema and media studies in 1991. His other movie credits include Little Odessa, The Yards, We Own the Night, Two Lovers and The Immigrant, which Gray directed, wrote and produced and was inspired by his own childhood in 1980s Queens, New York.
In past years, the school’s commencement speakers have included Brian Grazier and Ron Howard, Matt Reeves, Ryan Coogler, Jon M. Chu, Paul Feig, Jim Gianopulos, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Donna Langley, Barry Meyer, Ron Meyer, Sumner Redstone, Jay Roach, Stacey Sher and Laura Ziskin.
The University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts is a leading media school worldwide and was founded in collaboration with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 1929.