'Oscar Entry' Korean-American Director Celine Song... Why Did She Weave Pi Cheondeuk's 'Connection' into the Film?

First Directed Film 'Fast Lives'
Nominee for Best Picture and Best Director at the Academy Awards
CJ ENM TF Team Activated... Preparing for March Release

Director Celine Song
Photo by AFP·Yonhap News

"Honestly, it feels like I'm floating on the moon, it's so exhilarating." Korean-American director Celine Song (36) expressed her joy in an interview with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) on the 23rd (local time) after her directorial debut film Fast Lives was nominated for the American Academy Awards (Oscars).

Fast Lives has been nominated for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay at the 96th Academy Awards, which will be held on March 10 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles (LA), USA. The film will compete for Best Picture against nine other films including Oppenheimer, Barbie, American Fiction, Anatomy of a Fall, Maestro Bernstein, The Holdovers, Flower Killing Moon, Poor Things, and John of Interest. For Best Original Screenplay, it will compete against four films: Anatomy of a Fall, The Holdovers, Maestro Bernstein, and May December.

Director Song said, "It's an incredible recognition and an unbelievable honor," adding, "To be nominated for my first film, it's crazy," unable to hide her excitement. She said, "During the process of making my debut film, I wondered if I really belonged in this field and if people would support my vision," and added, "It was scary but rewarding to present the film to the world."

Fast Lives features the essay "Inyeon" by writer Pi Cheon-deuk. Regarding this, Director Song explained, "An Eastern concept appears in the film, meaning that simply being in the same time and place miraculously connects people and leads them to love each other." She added, "Our film team deeply felt this."

In an interview with the American entertainment media Deadline, Director Song said, "Being nominated for my first film is the coolest thing." She continued, "Originally, I didn't even know how to read a call sheet (film schedule)." Among the three nominated female directors' films, Fast Lives is one. Song said, "My way of life and the fact that I am a woman are reflected in the film. This is truly amazing." She added, "Honestly, it feels like I'm floating on the moon, it's so exhilarating." She said, "I hope I feel the same way when I am 95 years old. I want to do this forever, and my mission as a creator is to keep making films with my best effort."

'Fast Lives' stills [Photo by CJ ENM]

Fast Lives tells the fateful story over two days of first love Nayoung and Haesung, who spent their childhood in Seoul and reunite in New York after 24 years, reflecting on a connection that has been tenuous yet continuous. Korean-American actress Greta Lee, who left a strong impression with the Netflix series Russian Doll and Apple TV+ The Morning Show Season 2, plays Nayoung, and Yoo Tae-oh, the first Korean actor nominated for the British Academy Film Award for Best Actor, plays Haesung.

Director Song, like Nayoung played by Greta Lee in the film, emigrated from Korea to Canada at the age of 12. She is also known as the daughter of director Song Neung-han, who directed the film Number 3 (1997).

Fast Lives is co-invested and distributed by CJ ENM and the American Hollywood studio A24. CJ ENM announced that the film will be released in March, seemingly considering the March 10 awards ceremony. It is said that CJ decided early on to release it in March and has been preparing with an internal task force team.

Attention is focused on whether Director Celine Song will lift the Oscar, following Director Bong Joon-ho of Parasite (2019) and actress Youn Yuh-jung of Minari (2021).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.