Youn Yuh-jung nominated for Gotham Independent Film Awards 2020

Gotham Independent Film Awards 2020 announced that veteran actor Youn Yuh-jung was among the nominees for its best actress award.

Youn was nominated for her role in “Minari,” directed by Korean American Lee Isaac Chung.

The other nominees are Nicole Beharie for “Miss Juneteenth,” Jessie Buckley for “I’m Thinking of Ending Things,” Carrie Coon for “The Nest” and Oscar-winning actor Frances McDormand for “Nomadland,” the US independent movie award organizer said.

The award ceremony will take place Jan. 11 in New York.

“Minari” is set in the 1980s and depicts a first-generation South Korean immigrant family of four -- dad Jacob (Steven Yeun), mom Monica (Han Ye-ri), son David (Alan S. Kim) and daughter Anne (Noel Kate Cho) -- that moves to a farm in rural Alabama in the US in pursuit of the American dream.

Youn plays the grandmother, Soon-ja, who comes to America to live with Jacob’s family. 

The film and its cast have also been mentioned as possible nominees for the 2021 Academy Awards, scheduled for April 25. The nominees will be announced March 15.

“Minari” got off to a strong start, winning both the audience and US dramatic competition prizes at the Sundance Film Festival in January. The movie also won the ensemble cast spotlight award at this year’s Middleburg Film Festival in October.

According to the local movie distributor Pan Cinema, it is also receiving positive reviews in Europe and has been nominated for the feature film section at Spain’s 65th Valladolid International Film Festival.

Meanwhile, “Minari” will be presented in New York and Los Angeles on Dec. 11 and will branch out to the wider US audience starting Feb. 12. Its Korean release is expected in early 2021. 

By Song Seung-hyun (ssh@heraldcorp.com)