Celine Song References ‘Past Lives’ Themes While Accepting Best Feature at the Spirit Awards

Carly Thomas
·2 min read
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Past Lives won the award for best feature at the 2024 Film Independent Spirit Awards on Sunday.

After being presented the honor by Jude Law at the end of the ceremony in Santa Monica, director Celine Song took to the stage with the film’s team to share some heartfelt words.

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“I’ve been tasked with the amazing opportunity to speak on behalf of these amazing, incredible filmmakers up here,” Song said. “I feel so honored to be here to talk about this movie that we got to share with you.”

The filmmaker — who also won the award for best director Sunday — went on to speak about a deeper theme that was also present in the film, and what it meant to her.

“There is a concept in our film, it’s an Eastern concept…and it is about how finding and being in the same space and time in this life means that we actually knew each other for many, many lives that came before this one. And I think that making this movie, I have felt this way about everybody who’s on stage here, and I know that they have felt the same.”

Song added, “Accepting the best feature award on behalf of all of them and on behalf of our team, it’s a feeling that I get where I feel, you know, so less lonely because I know that everybody here feels the same too.”

The best feature award is given to the film’s producer, which includes David Hinojosa, Pamela Koffler and Christine Vachon.

Other nominees in the category at the Spirit Awards were All of Us Strangers, American Fiction, May December, Passages and We Grown Now.

Past Lives, which was also nominated for best picture at the Academy Awards, follows two childhood friends, Nora and Hae Sung, who are forced apart when Nora’s family emigrates from South Korea. They are later reunited in New York two decades later and must contemplate the nature of their relationship, now living different lives. It stars Greta Lee, Teo Yoo, John Magaro and Moon Seung-ah.

The 39th Spirit Awards, hosted by Saturday Night Live alum Aidy Bryant, were held Feb. 25. Find the complete winners list here, and also check out the star-studded red carpet arrivals.

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