'Minari' Oscar Music and Original Song Award Nominee

Competing with 'Soul', 'Mulan', and 'Trial of the Chicago 7'
'Namsan-ui Bujangdeul' Fails to Make International Film Award Shortlist

The film "Minari," which depicts the settlement of a Korean immigrant family in the United States, has been selected as a preliminary nominee for the Academy Awards in the categories of Best Original Score and Best Original Song.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), which hosts the Oscars, announced the preliminary nominees in nine categories on the 9th (local time). These categories include International Feature Film (formerly Best Foreign Language Film), Feature Documentary, Short Documentary, Makeup, Music, Original Song, Animated Short, and Live Action Short. "Minari" was named in two categories: Music (Emile Mosseri) and Original Song ("Rain Song").

In the Music category, it will compete against films such as "The Trial of the Chicago 7," "Tenet," "Soul," "Mulan," "News of the World," "The Midnight Sky," "Mank," "The Little Things," "Life Ahead," "Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey," "The Invisible Man," "Da 5 Bloods," "Blizzard of Souls," and "Ammonite." In the Original Song category, it will compete with songs from "The Trial of the Chicago 7" ("Hear My Voice"), "Sound of Metal" ("Green"), "One Night in Miami" ("Speak Now"), "The One and Only Ivan" ("Free"), "Mulan" ("Loyal Brave True"), "Soul" ("Show Me Your Soul"), "Life Ahead" ("Io S?"), "Judas and the Black Messiah" ("Fight For You"), "Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey" ("Make It Work"), "Giving Voice" ("Never Break"), "Eurovision Song Contest - The Story of Fire Saga" ("Husavik"), "Borat Subsequent Moviefilm" ("Wuhan Flu"), "Valley of the Beasts" ("See What You’ve Done"), and "All In: The Fight for Democracy" ("Turntables"). The final five nominees will be announced on the 15th of next month.

The music for "Minari" was composed by Emile Mosseri, a musician active as a composer, pianist, and singer in Los Angeles. He added lyrical melodies to the autobiographical story by director Lee Isaac Chung, creating a warm and hopeful atmosphere. The film's musical value was elevated, earning music awards from the Boston Society of Film Critics, Hollywood Critics Association, Capri Hollywood International Film Festival, and Hollywood Music in Media Awards. The original song "Rain Song" was also Mosseri's work. Lead actress Han Ye-ri translated the English lyrics into Korean and sang it herself. The comfortable melody combined with her clear voice leaves a deep impression.

Meanwhile, "The Man Standing Next," selected by the Korean Film Council as Korea's submission last October, did not make the shortlist for the International Feature Film category. Instead, the nominated films include "Quo Vadis, Aida?" (Bosnia and Herzegovina), "The Mole Agent" (Chile), "Charlatan" (Czech Republic), "Another Round" (Denmark), "Two of Us" (France), "The Wiping Woman" (Guatemala), "Better Days" (Hong Kong), "Sun Children" (Iran), "Night of the Kings" (C?te d'Ivoire), "I'm No Longer Here" (Mexico), "Hope" (Norway), "Collective" (Romania), "Dear Comrades!" (Russia), "A Sun" (Taiwan), and "The Man Who Sold His Skin" (Tunisia).