'Fast Lives' Nominated for Best Film and Screenplay
"Deeply Feeling the Connection with the Production Team"
Director Celine Song, whose feature film debut was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture, expressed her gratitude, calling it an "unbelievable honor." Her film Fast Lives was named in the final nominations for the 96th Academy Awards announced by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) on the 23rd (local time), receiving nods for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay (Celine Song). It will compete for Best Picture against nine other strong contenders including American Fiction, Anatomy of a Fall, Barbie, Barton Academy, Flower Killing Moon, Maestro Bernstein, Oppenheimer, Poor Things, and The John of Interest. For the Best Original Screenplay category, it will compete against Justin L. Triet and Arthur Harari (Anatomy of a Fall), David Hemingson (Barton Academy), Bradley Cooper and Josh Singer (Maestro Bernstein), and Sammy Birch (May December).
Fast Lives is a drama about Nayoung and Haesung, first loves who spent their childhood in Seoul and reunite in New York after 24 years, reflecting on their connection. The film stars Yoo Tae-oh, Greta Lee, and John Magaro. It was released in North America and has been praised for beautifully capturing a Korean worldview and scenery. Director Song said, "I am grateful to the Academy for recognizing the film. I feel an indescribable mix of emotions and gratitude," adding, "It is especially surprising to achieve this result with my first film."
The story’s backbone is autobiographical for Director Song. A significant portion was filmed in Korea, and most of the dialogue is in Korean. Song explained, "The concept of 'connection' in the film refers to the miraculous bond and feelings of love experienced by existing in the same place at the same time," adding, "It can be seen as the result of countless lives we shared in past lives." She continued, "While making Fast Lives, I deeply felt the connection with the production team. Today’s news made me realize that I shared the same feelings with my colleagues in the film industry. I am thankful."
The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January last year. It received critical acclaim and was invited to the competition section of the Berlin International Film Festival a month later. At the Golden Globe Awards held on the 7th, it was nominated in five categories including Best Motion Picture ? Drama, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Foreign Language Film, and Best Actress but did not win. It is also nominated in three categories at the British Academy Film Awards: Best Actor, Best International Film, and Best Original Screenplay. Ko Kyung-beom, head of CJ ENM’s film business division, said, "This is a meaningful result as it moved audiences with universal appeal beyond language and cultural barriers."
Director Song is the daughter of Song Neung-han, who directed the film Number 3 (1997) starring Han Suk-kyu and Choi Min-sik. She has worked as a playwright in New York and demonstrated significant potential with Endlings, a play that explores the stories of haenyeo (female divers) from Manjaedo and the identity struggles of the 1.5 generation immigrants. Maintaining Korean sensibilities, she created Fast Lives, becoming the fourth person to be nominated for both Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay at the Oscars with a feature film debut. She is the first Asian female director to achieve this.
Meanwhile, Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer leads with thirteen nominations including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Adapted Screenplay. Yorgos Lanthimos’s Poor Things received eleven nominations, Martin Scorsese’s Flower Killing Moon ten, Greta Gerwig’s Barbie eight, and Bradley Cooper’s Maestro Bernstein seven.
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