''Past Lives' earns two Academy Awards nominations

Teo Yoo and Greta Lee star in 'Past Lives.'

Past Lives, a story of childhood friends in Korea reconnect as adults in the United States received two Oscar nominations for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay.

“It’s just so amazing. It’s such a great honor, and on the first movie, I think that’s really the coolest thing,” filmmaker Celine Song told Deadline. “It feels so ... cool and amazing, and I just genuinely am so ... grateful for every single person…who’s ever come across being a part of this movie, anybody who’s even talked to me about this movie.”

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The lyrical film served as ametaphor for the pull of countries of origi was also the directorial debut of by Korean Canadian Song.

It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in Jan. 2023, Past Lives was named one of the top ten films of 2023 by the National Board of Review and the American Film Institute, then received five nominations at the 81st Golden Globe Awards, including Best Motion Picture – Drama.

Some critics believe the quiet romantic film should have received nominations for Best Director and its female lead Greta Lee should have been nominated for Best Actress.

An Oscar nomination also went to Nai Nai and Wai Po, (Mom's mom and Dad's Mom) in the Short Documentary category about two grandparents who become best friends and live together. The "love letter" to the two grandparents is written and directed by their grandson Sean Wang.

The 96th Academy Awards will air on ABC on March 10 and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel.

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