Korea Picks Lee Chang-dong's 'Possible Love' for Oscars
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- Korean Film Council (KOFIC) selected Lee Chang-dong's Possible Love as Korea's official submission for the Best International Feature category, with the selection committee praising its "cinematic completeness, the clarity of the director's message and its excellent mise-en-scène."
- Netflix financed the film and holds international rights, confirming it will receive an Oscar-qualifying theatrical release in Korea, the U.S., and other select territories following its festival run.
- Lee Chang-dong returns to directing after an eight-year hiatus with Possible Love, which follows two married couples whose lives intersect when a documentary filmmaker sets out to film a laid-off worker and his wife.
- Possible Love is Lee's fourth film submitted by Korea for the international Oscar, after Oasis (2003), Secret Sunshine (2008), and Burning (2018) — the first Korean film shortlisted in the category.
- The ensemble cast includes Jeon Do-yeon (reuniting with Lee after Secret Sunshine), Sul Kyung-gu, Zo In-sung, and Cho Yeo-jeong.
- The film is premiering in competition at Venice and in the Special Presentations section at Toronto this year.
Why it matters: This is Lee's fourth Oscar submission for Korea and his first film in eight years, giving Korea a high-profile veteran auteur as its contender. The Netflix-financed theatrical release structure — streamer backing with qualifying theatrical windows in Korea and the U.S. — is notable for a country whose prior shortlisted entry, *Burning*, was independently produced.
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