Baseball Girl

{{Infobox film

| name = Baseball Girl

| image = Baseball Girl poster.jpg

| caption = Theatrical release poster

| native_name = {{Infobox Korean film name/auto

| hangul = ^야구_소녀

| lk = }}

| director = Choi Yoon-tae

| producer = On Jung-joon

| writer = Choi Yoon-tae

| starring = {{ubl|Lee Joo-young|Lee Joon-hyuk|Yeom Hye-ran|Song Young-kyu|Kwak Dong-yeon}}

| music = Peterpen Complex

| cinematography = Hwang Seung-yoon

| editing = Choi Yoon-tae

| studio = Korean Academy of Film Arts

| distributor = M-Line Distribution

| released = {{film date|2019|10|4|BIFF|2020|6|18|South Korea}}

| runtime = 105 minutes

| country = South Korea

| language = Korean

| budget =

| gross =

}}

Baseball Girl ({{Korean/auto|hangul=^야구_소녀|rr=yes}}) 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.{{cite web|last=Park|first=Jung-sun|url=https://www.sedaily.com/NewsVIew/1VS09TT4HG|title=Lee Joo-young promises amazing transformation as baseball player in new movie|date=May 14, 2020|website=JTBC Plus|publisher=V Live|accessdate=May 19, 2020}}{{cite web|last=Choi|first=Ji-won|url=http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20200609000929&np=1&mp=1|title=Lee Joo-young goes to bat for hope in 'Baseball Girl'|date=June 9, 2020|website=The Korea Herald|accessdate=June 10, 2020}}

The film had its world premiere at the 24th Busan International Film Festival on October 4, 2019, in the "Korean Cinema Today - Panorama" category.{{cite web|last=Cho|first=Yeon-kyung|url=https://news.joins.com/article/23595402|title=[24회 BIFF] '야구소녀' 이주영 "한겨울 혹독한 훈련 덕에 진심으로 연기"|date=October 4, 2019|website=JoongAng Ilbo|language=ko|accessdate=May 19, 2020}}

Plot

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

Cast

Lee Joo-young as Joo Soo-in
Lee Joon-hyuk as Choi Jin-tae
Yeom Hye-ran as Shin Hae-sook
Song Young-kyu as Soo-in's father
Kwak Dong-yeon as Lee Jung-ho
Joo Hae-eun as Han Bang-geul
Lee Chae-eun as Teacher Kim
Kim Jong-soo as Coach Park
Yoo Jae-myung as Head

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."{{cite web|last=Kwak|first=Yeon-soo|url=https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/art/2020/06/689_290934.html|title='Baseball Girl' presents how to break glass ceiling in sports|date=June 9, 2020|website=The Korea Times|accessdate=June 10, 2020}}

=Casting=

On November 16, 2018, Lee Joo-young was cast as the protagonist of Baseball Girl.{{cite web|last=Ryu|first=Dong-woo|url=http://enter.etoday.co.kr/view/news_view.php?varAtcId=156152#csidx670057b802f0711854e2af600f0dc49|script-title=ko:이주영, 영화 '야구소녀'서 천재 야구 소녀 '변신'|date=November 16, 2018|website=BizEnter|language=ko|accessdate=May 19, 2020}} 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.{{cite web|last=Kang|first=Seo-jung|url=http://news.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2018/11/20/2018112000862.html|script-title=ko:이준혁, 영화 '야구소녀' 출연확정..브라운관·스크린 '열일 행보'[공식입장]|date=November 20, 2018|website=OSEN|publisher=The Chosun Ilbo|language=ko|accessdate=May 19, 2020}} On November 28, Yeom Hye-ran joined the main cast in the role of Soo-in's mother.{{cite web|last=Cho|first=Yu-kyung|url=https://sports.donga.com/ent/article/all/20181128/93062200/2|script-title=ko:염혜란 '야구소녀' 출연…'증인'·'걸캅스' 이은 스크린 점령|date=November 28, 2018|website=Sports Donga|language=ko|accessdate=May 19, 2020}} Kwak Dong-yeon was confirmed on January 4, 2019, for the role of a high school baseball player,{{cite web|last=Chae|first=Yi-seul|url=http://www.beffreport.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=54567|script-title=ko:곽동연, 영화 '야구소녀' 캐스팅... 프로야구 선수로 변신|date=January 4, 2019|website=Beff Report|language=ko|accessdate=May 19, 2020}} followed by Lee Chae-eun on January 15 for the role of Soo-in's Japanese teacher.{{cite web|last=Ryu|first=Dong-woo|url=http://enter.etoday.co.kr/view/news_view.php?varAtcId=160689#csidxbb957a17b26ea2f923c9f73a5a81258|script-title=ko:이채은, 영화 '야구소녀' 출연 확정 '일본어 교사 김선생 役'|date=January 15, 2019|website=BizEnter|language=ko|accessdate=May 19, 2020}}

=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.

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.{{cite web|last=Cho|first=Yeon-kyung|url=https://news.joins.com/article/23595426|script-title=ko:[현장IS·BIFF] "모든 꿈 응원" 이주영X이준혁X염혜란 '야구소녀' 청춘에 보내는 찬가(종합)|date=October 4, 2019|website=JoongAng Ilbo|language=ko|accessdate=May 19, 2020}} 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.{{cite web|last=Kim|first=Hyo-jin|url=http://www.topstarnews.net/news/articleView.html?idxno=674198|script-title=ko:이주영-이준혁-곽동연 '야구소녀', 2019 부산국제영화제(BIFF) 예매 매진…기대작·화제작 등극|date=September 25, 2019|website=Top Star News|language=ko|accessdate=May 19, 2020}}

The film hit theaters on June 18, 2020.{{cite web|last=Jung|first=Yoo-jin|url=https://entertain.naver.com/read?oid=421&aid=0004655437|title=[N컷] '야구소녀', 메인 포스터 2종…천재 야구소녀 이주영|date=May 25, 2020|website=News1|publisher=Naver|language=ko|accessdate=May 25, 2020}}

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.{{cite web|last=Kim|first=Ji-won|url=https://www.hankyung.com/entertainment/article/2020051328054|script-title=ko:이주영 주연 '야구소녀', 6월 개봉 확정…'이태원 클라쓰' 이은 열연|date=May 13, 2020|website=The Korea Economic Daily|language=ko|accessdate=May 19, 2020}}

=Accolades=

class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable"
scope="col"\| Year ! scope="col"\| Award ! scope="col"\| Category ! scope="col"\| Recipient(s) ! scope="col"\| Result ! scope="col" class="unsortable"\| {{Abbr\|Ref.\|References}}
2019 ! scope="row"\| 45th Seoul Independent Film Festival \| Independent Star Award \| rowspan=3\| Lee Joo-young \| {{won}} \| style="text-align:center;" \| {{cite web\|last=Kim\|first=Joo-won\|url=https://www.sedaily.com/NewsVIew/1VS09TT4HG\|script-title=ko:이주영, '제 45회 서울독립영화제' 독립스타상 수상\|date=December 9, 2019\|website=The Seoul Economy Daily\|language=ko\|accessdate=May 19, 2020}}
rowspan=2\| 2020 ! scope="row"\| 29th Buil Film Awards \| Best Actress \| {{nom}} \| style="text-align:center;" \| {{cite web\|url=https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2020/10/689_298103.html\|title='House of Hummingbird' wins two prizes at 29th Buil Film Awards\|date=October 23, 2020\|access-date=October 28, 2020\|website=The Korea Times}}
scope="row"\| 41st Blue Dragon Film Awards \| Best New Actress \| {{nom}} \| style="text-align:center;" \| {{Cite news\|script-title=ko:[공식]제41회 청룡영화상 후보 발표…'남산의부장들' 10개 부문 최다 노미\|url=https://www.chosun.com/entertainments/entertain_photo/2020/11/11/4MJA6KGIODYMQGDZDHKFIDT4RU/\|date=November 11, 2020\|language=ko}}

class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable"

scope="col"| Year

! scope="col"| Award

! scope="col"| Category

! scope="col"| Recipient(s)

! scope="col"| Result

! scope="col" class="unsortable"| {{Abbr|Ref.|References}}

2019

! scope="row"| 45th Seoul Independent Film Festival

| Independent Star Award

| rowspan=3| Lee Joo-young

| {{won}}

| style="text-align:center;" | {{cite web|last=Kim|first=Joo-won|url=https://www.sedaily.com/NewsVIew/1VS09TT4HG|script-title=ko:이주영, '제 45회 서울독립영화제' 독립스타상 수상|date=December 9, 2019|website=The Seoul Economy Daily|language=ko|accessdate=May 19, 2020}}

rowspan=2| 2020

! scope="row"| 29th Buil Film Awards

| Best Actress

| {{nom}}

| style="text-align:center;" | {{cite web|url=https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2020/10/689_298103.html|title='House of Hummingbird' wins two prizes at 29th Buil Film Awards|date=October 23, 2020|access-date=October 28, 2020|website=The Korea Times}}

scope="row"| 41st Blue Dragon Film Awards

| Best New Actress

| {{nom}}

| style="text-align:center;" | {{Cite news|script-title=ko:[공식]제41회 청룡영화상 후보 발표…'남산의부장들' 10개 부문 최다 노미|url=https://www.chosun.com/entertainments/entertain_photo/2020/11/11/4MJA6KGIODYMQGDZDHKFIDT4RU/|date=November 11, 2020|language=ko}}