Lee Chang-dong's 'Possible Love' Wins Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize at Venice Film Festival

South Korean director Lee Chang-dong won the Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize for his latest feature, "Possible Love," at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival on Saturday. This marks the first time a Korean film has won the Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize and the first prize for a Korean film at the festival since Kim Ki-duk won the Golden Lion for "Pieta" in 2012. The film stars Jeon Do-yeon, Sul Kyung-gu, Zo In-sung, and Cho Yeo-jeong. It also received the FIPRESCI Prize from international film critics. The Golden Lion for Best Film was awarded to May el-Toukhy's "Woman Unknown," and the jury was led by Maggie Gyllenhaal.

In his acceptance speech, Lee thanked his cast and staff, noting that he made the film to question the role of cinema in an era of fading labor meanings and severed human connections. He later stated at a press conference that he wanted to explore how to portray the pain of others to facilitate healing. The film, which is Lee's first feature in eight years following 2018's "Burning," follows the lives of a laid-off worker and his wife alongside a documentary maker and her affluent husband. It is scheduled for release in South Korea on September 23 and will be available on Netflix on November 6. The film has also been selected as South Korea's official submission for next year's Academy Awards.

President Lee Jae Myung congratulated the director and crew on X, mentioning that he had previously met with them at the Lumiere Summit in Saint-Paul-de-Vence. The production of the film involved a partnership with Netflix after Lee had previously struggled to find investors for a theatrical release. The film's premiere at the Sala Grande on September 6 reportedly concluded with a seven-minute standing ovation.