Lee Chang-dong’s ‘Possible Love’ wins Grand Jury Prize at Venice International Film Festival

Lee Chang-dong’s “Possible Love” won the Grand Jury Prize at the Venice International Film Festival on Saturday, in a celebrated return for the filmmaker 24 years after he won best director for “Oasis” (2002).

The Grand Jury Prize is considered the festival’s second-highest honor. The award was decided by a jury led by U.S. actor and filmmaker Maggie Gyllenhaal, which gave the Golden Lion, the festival’s top prize, to May El-Toukhy’s “Woman Unknown.”

“I made this film to ask what cinema can do — and what it must do — in an age when work is disappearing and human connections are breaking down,” Lee said after receiving the award at the closing ceremony of the festival’s 83rd edition in Italy.

“I take this award as a sign that I should keep asking that question.”

“Possible Love" is Lee's first feature film in eight years following"Burning" (2018).

Starring Jeon Do-yeon, Sul Kyung-gu, Cho Yeo-jeong and Zo In-sung, the drama centers on two married couples from different social and economic backgrounds whose lives intersect, exploring relationships strained by financial hardship and broader social change.

Lee said at a press conference after the ceremony that he was first inspired to make the film more than a decade ago after seeing how a wave of mass layoffs at a major Korean conglomerate had lasting repercussions for workers and society, an event he described as “shocking.”

“I wasn’t sure I had the right to turn their stories into a fictional film and show them to audiences,” Lee said. “Films can sometimes end up using other people’s suffering for their own purposes. I wanted to ask myself — and the audience — how filmmakers should portray the suffering of others. Then I […] wondered whether the process of making a film could itself become a way of sharing that pain and finding some way to heal from it together."

At an earlier press event in Seoul, Lee said the subject had only grown more urgent with time.

“With advances in technology, we are moving toward an era in which labor itself could disappear,” he said. 

“At times like these, I believe love is what keeps us going. Not just romantic love, but love as something fundamental to all human relationships.”

At a jury press conference, veteran Hong Kong filmmaker Johnnie To, one of this year’s Venice jurors, described “Possible Love” as the “most mature” of Lee’s eight films, praising its “subtle” dialogue.

“Maybe because of the cultural differences, some of the details may not fully come across to international audiences, but I liked all the details and reflections in the movie,” To said through an interpreter. “I would never be able to make this kind of movie.”

The film also drew strong reviews from critics, scoring 96 out of 100 on Metacritic based on 11 reviews shortly after its Venice premiere and maintaining a 100 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Lee is one of Korea’s most acclaimed filmmakers, known for films such as “Peppermint Candy” (1999) and “Secret Sunshine” (2007). His drama “Poetry” won best screenplay at the Cannes Film Festival in 2010, while Jeon Do-yeon won best actress at Cannes in 2007 for her performance in “Secret Sunshine.”

He co-wrote "Possible Love" with Oh Jung-mi, who also worked with him on “Burning,” the psychological drama that competed at Cannes and was shortlisted for the Academy Award for best foreign language film.

In his acceptance speech at Venice, Lee thanked Oh, the production crew and Netflix, which financed and distributes the film, as well as his brother Lee Jun-dong, head of the film’s production company, Pinehouse Film.

“I want to say I’m sorry to producer Lee Jun-dong, who had to drink every day while waiting for this film to be made,” he said.

After struggling to secure financing, Lee made “Possible Love” with backing from Netflix, a relatively rare source of support for an arthouse film. It is the first Netflix Korean original film to receive a theatrical release before becoming available on the streaming platform, making it eligible for the Oscars.

The Korean Film Council last month selected “Possible Love” as Korea’s submission for the best international feature film category at the 99th Academy Awards. Following Venice, the film is also screening at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Lee Chang-dong’s win in Venice’s main competition comes 14 years after Kim Ki-duk’s “Pieta” won the Golden Lion in 2012. Korea’s first award at Venice came in 1987, when Kang Soo-yeon won best actress for her performance in Im Kwon-taek’s “The Surrogate Woman.”

President Lee Jae Myung congratulated the director, cast and crew of “Possible Love” in a statement on X, saying, “I hope this award will further broaden the diversity of Korean cinema and help more good films reach audiences around the world.”

Culture Minister Chae Hwi-young called the win a “remarkable achievement.”

“The director’s deep artistic spirit, driven by his refusal to stop asking questions, has once again resonated deeply with filmmakers around the world,” Chae said on X.

In remarks released by Netflix, Lee said he was “very happy and grateful” for the honor, adding that the response from audiences mattered more to him than the prize itself.

“Some people may be disappointed that it wasn’t the Golden Lion, but I think this is more than enough,” he said.

“When I make a film, I always hope that it will have meaning for me, for the audience and for cinema itself,” he said. “I hope this film will reach audiences in a meaningful way.”

“Possible Love” will open in Korea on Sept. 23 and in the United States, Britain and other select markets on Oct. 23 before its global release on Netflix on Nov. 6.

Update, Sept. 13: Added remarks from the director and other commentators following the ceremony.

BY KIM JU-YEON [[email protected]]