Korean actress Youn Yuh-jung won best supporting actress at The Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association (WAFCA) for her role in the movie “Minari.”
WAFCA announced the winners of its annual awards. Besides Youn Yuh-jung, WAFCA awarded Alan Kim the Best Youth Performance.
“Minari” tells the story of a family of Korean immigrants who relocate to Arkansas in the 1980s. Youn Yuh-jung plays the role of Soon-ja who travels to the US from South Korea to take care of her grandchildren.
The WAFCA win is the 16th best supporting actress win in the US for the 73-year-old actress who was earlier snubbed by the Golden Globes in the nominations for the category.
Youn Yuh-jung has won best supporting actress award from many award-giving bodies including the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, Alliance of Women Film Journalists Awards, National Board of Review and San Diego Film Critics Society.
She is nominated for the same award at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, a first for a Korean actress.
“Minari” bagged only one nomination at the 78th Golden Globe Awards, to be held on Feb. 28, for Best Foreign Language Film, which created a controversy as the film was not nominated for Best Motion Picture.
The New York Times wrote, “It wouldn’t be the Globes without a foreign-language film kerfuffle. This time, the group has egg on its face because Lee Isaac Chung’s “Minari” has to compete as a foreign-language nominee — even though Mr. Chung is an American director, the movie was filmed in the United States, it was financed by American companies and it focuses on an immigrant family pursuing the American dream.”
“But the characters in ‘Minari’ predominantly speak Korean. As a result, Globe rules require it be part of the best foreign-language film race; it cannot be considered for the top prize. The cast of ‘Minari’ was eligible for acting nominations but received none,” it added.
At the Sundance Film Festival, “Minari won the US Dramatic Competition Grand Jury Prize and US Dramatic Competition Audience Award.
“Minari” will be released in South Korea on March 3.