Baseball Girl

Baseball Girl (Korean: 야구소녀; RR: Yaguseonyeo) is a 2019 South Korean drama sports film written and directed by Choi Yoon-tae, starring Lee Joo-young, Lee Joon-hyuk, Yeom Hye-ran, Song Young-kyu and Kwak Dong-yeon. It was released in theaters on June 18, 2020.[1][2]

Baseball Girl
Theatrical release poster
Hangul야구소녀
Revised RomanizationYaguseonyeo
Directed byChoi Yoon-tae
Produced byOn Jung-joon
Written byChoi Yoon-tae
Starring
Music byPeterpen Complex
CinematographyHwang Seung-yoon
Edited byChoi Yoon-tae
Production
company
Korean Academy of Film Arts
Distributed byM-Line Distribution
Release date
  • October 4, 2019 (2019-10-04) (BIFF)
  • June 18, 2020 (2020-06-18) (South Korea)
Running time
105 minutes
CountrySouth Korea
LanguageKorean

The film had its world premiere at the 24th Busan International Film Festival on October 4, 2019 in the "Korean Cinema Today - Panorama" category.[3]

Plot

The story of Joo Soo-in who is determined to become the first female baseball player to join a professional team.

Cast

Production

Development

Choi Yoon-tae was inspired to write this film in 2017 after he watched the interview of a female baseball player. He added that "when [he] told [his] wife that there is no current rule banning women from playing on a professional baseball team, she seemed surprised; so [he] thought it would be interesting to write a story on an aspiring female baseball player."[4]

Casting

On November 16, 2018, Lee Joo-young was cast as the protagonist of Baseball Girl.[5] On November 20, Lee Joon-hyuk's agency confirmed that the actor would be starring in the film, playing a high school baseball coach who helps Joo Soo-in achieve her dream.[6] On November 28, Yeom Hye-ran joined the main cast in the role of Soo-in's mother.[7] Kwak Dong-yeon was confirmed on January 4, 2019 for the role of a high school baseball player,[8] followed by Lee Chae-eun on January 15 for the role of Soo-in's Japanese teacher.[9]

Filming

Principal photography began in January 2019 and filming ended in February, a period during which baseball players usually cannot train due to the cold weather, which made filming more difficult in addition to the small budget.[3]

Release

Baseball Girl premiered at the 24th Busan International Film Festival on October 4, 2019 in the presence of director Choi Yoon-tae and actors Lee Joo-young, Lee Joon-hyuk and Yeom Hye-ran.[10] GV screenings took place on October 4 and 5 at Lotte Cinema Centum City and a general screening was held on October 9 at Lotte Cinema Daeyoung. Tickets were sold out soon after they went on sale for both screenings.[11]

The film hit theaters on June 18, 2020.[12]

Reception

Critical response

At the Busan International Film Festival, the media, critics and audience praised Lee Joo-young's acting as well as Soo-in's passion, her determination to keep running towards her dream and not giving up despite prejudice against her gender.[13]

Accolades
Year Award Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
2019 45th Seoul Independent Film Festival Independent Star Award Lee Joo-young Won [14]
2020 29th Buil Film Awards Best Actress Nominated [15]
41st Blue Dragon Film Awards Best New Actress Pending [16]

References
  1. Park, Jung-sun (May 14, 2020). "Lee Joo-young promises amazing transformation as baseball player in new movie". JTBC Plus. V Live. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
  2. Choi, Ji-won (June 9, 2020). "Lee Joo-young goes to bat for hope in 'Baseball Girl'". The Korea Herald. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  3. Cho, Yeon-kyung (October 4, 2019). "[24회 BIFF] '야구소녀' 이주영 "한겨울 혹독한 훈련 덕에 진심으로 연기"". JoongAng Ilbo (in Korean). Retrieved May 19, 2020.
  4. Kwak, Yeon-soo (June 9, 2020). "'Baseball Girl' presents how to break glass ceiling in sports". The Korea Times. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  5. Ryu, Dong-woo (November 16, 2018). "이주영, 영화 '야구소녀'서 천재 야구 소녀 '변신'". BizEnter (in Korean). Retrieved May 19, 2020.
  6. Kang, Seo-jung (November 20, 2018). "이준혁, 영화 '야구소녀' 출연확정..브라운관·스크린 '열일 행보'[공식입장]". Osen (in Korean). News Chosun. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
  7. Cho, Yu-kyung (November 28, 2018). "염혜란 '야구소녀' 출연…'증인'·'걸캅스' 이은 스크린 점령". Sports Donga (in Korean). Retrieved May 19, 2020.
  8. Chae, Yi-seul (January 4, 2019). "곽동연, 영화 '야구소녀' 캐스팅... 프로야구 선수로 변신". Beff Report (in Korean). Retrieved May 19, 2020.
  9. Ryu, Dong-woo (January 15, 2019). "이채은, 영화 '야구소녀' 출연 확정 '일본어 교사 김선생 役'". BizEnter (in Korean). Retrieved May 19, 2020.
  10. Cho, Yeon-kyung (October 4, 2019). "[현장IS·BIFF] "모든 꿈 응원" 이주영X이준혁X염혜란 '야구소녀' 청춘에 보내는 찬가(종합)". JoongAng Ilbo (in Korean). Retrieved May 19, 2020.
  11. Kim, Hyo-jin (September 25, 2019). "이주영-이준혁-곽동연 '야구소녀', 2019 부산국제영화제(BIFF) 예매 매진…기대작·화제작 등극". Top Star News (in Korean). Retrieved May 19, 2020.
  12. Jung, Yoo-jin (May 25, 2020). "[N컷] '야구소녀', 메인 포스터 2종…천재 야구소녀 이주영". News1 (in Korean). Naver. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
  13. Kim, Ji-won (May 13, 2020). "이주영 주연 '야구소녀', 6월 개봉 확정…'이태원 클라쓰' 이은 열연". Hankyung (in Korean). Retrieved May 19, 2020.
  14. Kim, Joo-won (December 9, 2019). "이주영, '제 45회 서울독립영화제' 독립스타상 수상". Sedaily (in Korean). Retrieved May 19, 2020.
  15. "'House of Hummingbird' wins two prizes at 29th Buil Film Awards". The Korea Times. October 23, 2020. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  16. "[공식]제41회 청룡영화상 후보 발표…'남산의부장들' 10개 부문 최다 노미" (in Korean). November 11, 2020.
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