Lee Chang-dong's Possible Love: A Decade-Old Idea, a Venice Premiere, and South Korea's Oscar Bet
Lee Chang-dong's first film in eight years, Possible Love, will world-premiere at the Venice Film Festival before Netflix releases it in US theatres on 23 October and begins streaming globally on 6 November. South Korea has already chosen it as the country's official submission for the Academy Award for Best International Feature (The Hollywood Reporter, 27 August 2026).
The gap matches the one between his previous two films: Poetry (2010) and Burning (2018). But Possible Love has been gestating for roughly a decade, its roots in a Korean scandal involving mass layoffs and the violent state suppression of public protest (The Hollywood Reporter, 27 August 2026).
Lee wrote a screenplay for the project early on, attaching two actors he had worked with before: Jeon Do-yeon, the star of his 2007 film Secret Sunshine, and Sul Kyung-gu, known for Peppermint Candy (2000). Then he put it aside. He doubted whether he was worthy of depicting the lives of labourers through a dramatic film, and the screenplay sat in a drawer (The Hollywood Reporter, 27 August 2026).
The film that has emerged, co-written by Lee and Oh Jung-mi, follows two married couples whose worlds collide. Sul Kyung-gu plays Ho-seok, a laid-off worker; Jeon Do-yeon plays his hopeful wife, Mi-ok. They cross paths with Ye-ji, an affluent documentary filmmaker chronicling laid-off workers — played by Cho Yeo-jeong, known internationally for Parasite — and her wealthy businessman husband, Sang-woo, played by Zo In-sung. Netflix's synopsis describes the two couples confronting their hidden desires as their lives intertwine (The Hollywood Reporter, 27 August 2026; Netflix).
One rumour that surfaced during the long development can be set aside: Possible Love is not a remake of, or drawn from, Krzysztof Kieślowski's Dekalog: Nine (The Hollywood Reporter, 27 August 2026).
Netflix first confirmed the project was in production in August 2025, listing it as part of a 2026 Korean content slate of 33 series and films. The streamer released the official trailer on 27 August 2026 (Netflix, 20 January 2026; Netflix, 27 August 2026).
Lee, now 71, made his debut with Green Fish in 1997. He has made six features across nearly three decades, each separated by years-long gaps. His films have won prizes at Cannes (Poetry took the Best Screenplay award) and competed on the Lido before. The Venice premiere will be a homecoming of sorts for a director whose work the festival has championed.
The October theatrical window — two weeks before the streaming debut — gives Possible Love a qualifying run for awards consideration. South Korea's submission for the international feature race is notable in part because the category has become increasingly competitive; the country won it with Parasite in 2020 before that film went on to take Best Picture.
For audiences, the release plan is straightforward: select theatres on 23 October, Netflix on 6 November. A new Lee Chang-dong film is rare. This one took ten years to arrive.
