‘Past Lives’: Read The Screenplay For Celine Song’s Oscar-Nominated Feature Film Debut

On her first feature film try, Celine Song struck gold with the time-hopping romantic drama Past Lives.

A24‘s semi-autobiographic pic netted two key nominations at this year’s Oscars, for Best Picture and Song’s Original Screenplay — a huge coup for the tiny feature that debuted at last year’s Sundance Film Festival.

The Oscar noms came off five nominations at the Golden Globes and a Best Feature win at the Gothams. The pic, which Song wrote and directed, tells the story of Nora (Greta Lee) and Hae Sung (Teo Yoo), deeply connected childhood friends who lose contact after Nora’s family emigrates from South Korea. Two decades later, a married Nora is reunited with Hae Sung in New York for one fateful week as they confront notions of destiny, love and the choices that make a life.

John Magaro also stars as Nora’s husband Arthur, who wrestles with what his wife’s connection to Hae Sung means, while giving the pair the space to reconnect.

Produced by David Hinojosa alongside Christine Vachon and Pamela Koffler of Killer Films, Past Lives‘ Best Picture competitors are American Fiction, Anatomy of a Fall, Barbie, The Holdovers, Killers of the Flower Moon, Maestro, Oppenheimer, Poor Things and The Zone of Interest. In the Original Screenplay category, it competes against Anatomy of a Fall‘s Justine Triet and Arthur Harari, The Holdovers’ David Hemingson, Maestro’s Bradley Cooper & Josh Singer, and May December’s Samy Burch.

Discussing her noms with Deadline, Song said: “It’s just so amazing. It’s such a great honor, and on the first movie, I think that’s really the coolest thing.”

She added: “It feels so f*cking cool and amazing, and I just genuinely am so f*cking 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.”

Click below to read Song’s script.