EIFF: Past Lives
A moving examination of South Korean diaspora told through a delicate tale of star-crossed friends.
Dir. Celine Song / United States / 2023 / English, Korean with English subtitles
Nora (Greta Lee) emigrates to Canada from Seoul at age twelve, leaving behind her best friend and first love Hae Sung (Teo Yoo). Another 12 years go by before Hae Sung can track Nora down on social media, her Westernised moniker a nagging impediment to their virtual reunion. Because life rarely spares the well-meaning, many more obstacles stand between the two lovers who never were, caught in the rueful misfortune of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. A classic immigrant tale in the making, Celine Song’s directorial debut Past Lives is one of those rare films able to balance on its expertly crafted tightrope the woes of diaspora and the magical possibilities of reinvention.
Rafa Sales Ross, Film Programmer
Celine Song's remarkable debut is a rare mature adult drama of inexpressible connections and one of the most effective films of the year.
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Writer-director: Celine Song
Celine Song's play Endlings received its world premiere in 2019 at American Repertory Theater and had its New York premiere in 2020 at New York Theatre Workshop. She has been a finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize and a semifinalist for the American Playwriting Foundation's Relentless Award. Celine also wrote on the first season of Amazon's Wheel of Time.
Producers: David Hinojosa, Christine Vachon, Pamela Koffler
Cast: Greta Lee, Teo Yoo, John Magaro
Sales Agent: A24
Distributor: Studiocanal
Read More
Celine Song’s 'Past Lives' Is a Calm but Moving Début, by Anthony Lane // Time
Greta Lee Has Been Waiting For A Film Like Past Lives, by Elissa Suh // Nylon
Listen
'Past Lives' Director Celine Song // IndieWire's Filmmaker Toolkit
'Past Lives' with Celine Song // The Letterboxd Show
Interview: Celine Song (Past Lives) and Henry Winkler (Barry) // Little Gold Men by Vanity Fair
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