Interpretation Services Shine at the Oscars: What a Win for “Parasite” Means

Sunday night the South Korean hit “Parasite” became the first foreign language film to win the Academy Award for best picture. People’s love of interpretation services shared the spotlight—something of a rarity for high-profile awards shows. Conventionally, we expect screen time to be monopolized by big studios and well-known producers. Bong Joon Ho and his film “Parasite” shook up everything we thought we knew about the Oscars and global translation services.

Behind every great international film is a brilliant interpreter. Working in tandem with Bong Joon Ho on the night of the Oscars was Sharon Choi. A filmmaker herself, Choi joined Bong onstage four times: as he accepted the awards for best director, original screenplay and international feature. The last time she lent her interpretation services to Kwak Sin Ae, a producer, in her speech for the film’s best picture win.

One moment stood out to audience members and viewers alike. When executive producer Miky Lee went to take to the microphone to say a few words, the lights on the stage not-so-subtly began to dim. Several people in the crowd, including Charlize Theron and Tom Hanks, started chanting “Up! Up! Up!” Maybe it was their star power, or just their wild arm movements, but either way, their enthusiasm got the message across.  Translation services and some of the biggest names in Hollywood’s were on the same page that night. The lights were turned back on and Lee had her moment to shine.

This leaves the door open in Hollywood for an expansion of the role language service companies can play on the big screen. Through something like video translation behind the scenes, all the way to onstage interpretation, stories can be brought to new audiences. This sets a precedent. American audiences are listening for new stories.

Throughout Bong’s speech, we saw interpretation services that were not only groundbreaking, but also incredibly heartfelt. When he won Best Original Screenplay, Bong and Sharon Choi acknowledged the enormity of the moment for his country through consecutive interpreting, saying, “Writing a script is such a lonely process; we never write to represent our country, but this is the very first Oscar to South Korea. Thank you.”