Movie lovers are in for a treat if they had to Christie Pits Park (750 Bloor Street) on Sunday (July 27) evening. At sundown, they can take in a free screening of Celine Song’s critically acclaimed 2023 film, Past Lives.
Reel Asian and the Toronto Outdoor Picture Show are co-presenting the Canadian filmmaker’s debut feature, which received Oscar nominations for Best Motion Picture of the Year and Best Original Screenplay. It will be preceded by two short films: Winnifred Jong’s “Distant Cousins” and Christina Hajjar’s “Don’t Forget the Water”.
Past Lives follows two childhood friends in Seoul, Nora (Greta Lee) and Hae Sung (Teo Yoo), over more than two decades. They develop a crush on one another as 12-year-olds but become separated when Nora’s family moves from South Korea to Canada. By 2011, Nora is living in New York as a young adult when she falls in love with another man named Arthur (John Magaro), just as Hae Sung has completed military service. Then 12 years later, Hae Sung visits New York to reconnect with Nora, who is now married.
Like her lead character, Song was born in South Korea and immigrated with her family to Canada as a 12-year-old. She spent her teen years in Markham and later moved to New York.
In all, Past Lives racked up an incredible 82 awards and 236 nominations, according to IMDb. The wins included Best New Filmmaker for Song from the Boston Society of Film Critics, Outstanding Achievement in Casting by the Casting Society of America, and the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in a First-Time Feature Film. Past Lives also captured Best Film from the U.S.-based National Society of Film Critics Awards and Foreign Language Film of the Year from the London Critics Circle.
Song’s second feature film, Materialists, was released last month. It’s a love story revolving around a young New York City matchmaker, played by Dakota Johnson.
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