Acclaimed South Korean auteur Lee Chang-dong has once again cemented his status as a titan of global cinema. His latest feature, Possible Love, was awarded the prestigious Special Jury Prize at the 83rd Venice Film Festival, marking a triumphant return for the director eight years after his last project, Burning.
The announcement took place on September 12 at the Palazzo del Cinema in Venice, Italy, during the festival’s high-profile closing ceremony. This victory represents a significant milestone for Korean cinema, ending a 14-year drought for South Korean films at the Venice festival—the last being Kim Ki-duk’s Golden Lion-winning Pieta in 2012.
Possible Love serves as an intimate and poignant exploration of human fragility, tracking the intersection of two couples: a laid-off worker and his wife, and a documentary filmmaker and her spouse. As their paths converge during a collaborative documentary project, the characters are forced to confront their diverging realities and buried desires.
Speaking to the press after accepting the trophy, Lee reflected on the philosophical weight of his work. “I made this film to ask what cinema can do, and what it must do, in an era where labor is disappearing and relationships between people are breaking down,” Lee stated. He expressed profound gratitude to his ensemble cast—Jeon Do-yeon, Seol Kyung-gu, Jo In-sung, and Cho Yeo-jeong—crediting them for the emotional resonance the film achieved. “I understand that by giving us this prize, you are encouraging us to continue asking these questions,” he added.
This win adds to an illustrious legacy for Lee at international film festivals. His previous connection to Venice includes his 2002 success with Oasis, which earned him the Silver Lion for Best Director and a Best Newcomer award for actress Moon So-ri. With this latest honor, Lee continues to bridge the gap between social commentary and poetic storytelling, a hallmark of his career that has previously seen him win Best Screenplay at Cannes for Poetry (2010).
The momentum for Possible Love shows no signs of slowing. Beyond its success in Venice, the film was a featured selection at the 51st Toronto International Film Festival. Furthermore, the Korean Film Council has confirmed that Possible Love has been officially selected as South Korea’s entry for the Best International Feature Film category at the upcoming 99th Academy Awards in the United States.
As Possible Love prepares for its broader commercial release, the film is already being hailed as a defining work of contemporary South Korean cinema, reaffirming Lee Chang-dong’s unique ability to capture the complexities of the human condition on a global stage.
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