Lee Chang-dong's Possible Love: Venice Prize and Oscar Bid

Film festival red carpet at night illustrating Lee Chang-dong's Possible Love, winner of the Venice Jury Grand Prize

On September 12, 2026, Lee Chang-dong (이창동) won the Jury Grand Prize at the Venice International Film Festival for Possible Love (가능한 사랑, Ganeunghan Sarang), the first time a Korean film has taken that prize. The film is also South Korea's entry for the 2027 Academy Awards, and it arrives on Netflix worldwide on November 6. This guide covers what the film is, how its release was staged across countries, and how a Korean film becomes an Oscar entry in the first place.

Film Facts

Item	Detail
Director	Lee Chang-dong (이창동), his first feature since Burning (버닝, 2018)
Cast	Sol Kyung-gu (설경구) as Hoseok (호석), Jeon Do-yeon (전도연) as Miok (미옥), Jo Yeo-jeong (조여정) as Yeji (예지), Cho In-sung (조인성) as Sangwoo (상우)
Premise	A laid-off worker and his wife meet a documentary director and her husband while a documentary is being made, and each couple confronts the other's life and hidden desires
Producer / platform	Netflix project, Lee's first with the streamer; produced by Lee Joon-dong (이준동) of Pinehouse Film
Korean theatrical release	September 23, 2026 (limited)
Netflix release	November 6, 2026, worldwide

Release dates and the plot summary come from Netflix's official announcement. The producer credit is from Weekly Kyunghyang's report on the Venice win.

What Won in Venice

The film premiered in the official competition at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival on September 6, one of 21 titles competing for the Golden Lion, according to a Korean report on the premiere. At the closing ceremony on September 12 local time, it received the Jury Grand Prize (심사위원대상, the Silver Lion), as reported by MTN. It had also won the FIPRESCI critics' prize a day earlier. The Golden Lion went to a different film.

Festival	Section or honor
83rd Venice International Film Festival	Official competition; Jury Grand Prize; FIPRESCI prize
51st Toronto International Film Festival	Special Presentations
64th New York Film Festival	Main Slate
49th Mill Valley Film Festival (California)	Auteur Award for Lee Chang-dong, described as the first for a Korean director

The Toronto and New York placements are from an Ilgan Sports report. The Mill Valley award is from Vogue Korea, which notes the award honors a director's body of work.

Lee has a history in Venice. According to MTN, he won the director's prize there in 2002 for Oasis (오아시스), which makes this win a return after 24 years. The same report says the Jury Grand Prize is a first for any Korean film. Korean reports on the premiere also say the audience applauded for more than six minutes, and list favorable reviews from Guardian, IndieWire, South China Morning Post, and others. Treat those as the Korean press's summary of foreign reviews, not as verified scores.

How It Became South Korea's Oscar Entry

Each country may submit one film to the Academy's international feature category, and in Korea that choice is made by the Korean Film Council (영화진흥위원회, KOFIC). It announced on August 25, 2026 that Possible Love would represent the country at the 99th Academy Awards, per Vogue Korea. The report says the shortlist decision will come at the end of this year and the ceremony takes place in March 2027.

That timeline explains something that looks odd for a Netflix film: a theatrical run. The report states that the September 23 limited release in Korea was meant to meet the Academy's requirement of at least seven consecutive days in a commercial theater. Netflix's announcement frames it as part of a pattern of Netflix films opening in cinemas first. The Korean release is therefore partly an awards-eligibility step, not only a normal distribution plan.

Lee also has Oscar history: the report says Burning in 2018 was the first Korean film to reach the shortlist in what was then called the foreign-language category, which it describes as a plus for this selection. For how the festival circuit feeds that process, see our guide to Busan's A-list status and the Oscar route.

Release Schedule Around the World

The theatrical rollout was staged by region before the streaming date. According to Venture Square's report on Netflix's schedule:

Date	Where	Format
September 23	South Korea	Limited theatrical release
October 22	Australia, New Zealand	Theatrical
October 23	US, Canada, UK, Ireland, Japan	Theatrical
November 6	Global	Netflix streaming

Theatrical availability varies by theater and city. The report adds that Netflix is also streaming earlier Lee films in selected countries, with subtitles in six languages including English and Korean. Green Fish (초록물고기) and Secret Sunshine (밀양) began streaming in late August in countries including Italy, the UK, France, Australia, and New Zealand. Peppermint Candy (박하사탕) and Oasis started September 4 in Italy and Spain. Poetry (시) and Burning were planned for markets including the US, Japan, and Canada, without dates given in the report. Availability differs by country, so check your local Netflix catalog. Another Korean film built for the platform is covered in our guide to The Great Flood.

The Korean Context: Why a Layoff Story

Lee has said in an interview with Weekly Kyunghyang that he chose mass layoffs because their aftermath in Korea is severe and can change ordinary people's lives. He describes the film as being about love, asking what kinds of love are possible and what people must do to make them possible, and he said that in hard times what sustains life is love. He added that Netflix gave him full creative independence and that it was the most comfortable shoot of his career. The article does not say whether the film is adapted from existing material, so this guide does not claim either way.

The class contrast in the premise is explicit: the Netflix summary pairs a laid-off worker couple with a documentary filmmaker couple. The same interview identifies Sangwoo, Yeji's husband, as someone who grew up wealthy, which sets up the encounter. Beyond that, little about the plot has been made public, and this guide avoids spoilers.

FAQ

When can I watch Possible Love?
On Netflix worldwide from November 6, 2026. It opened in Korean theaters on September 23 and in the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, and Japan on October 23, with Australia and New Zealand on October 22.

What prize did Possible Love win at Venice?
The Jury Grand Prize (Silver Lion), announced September 12, 2026. MTN reports it is the first time a Korean film has won that prize.

Is Possible Love South Korea's Oscar submission?
Yes. The Korean Film Council selected it for the 99th Academy Awards international feature category on August 25, 2026. The shortlist is expected at the end of the year, and the ceremony is in March 2027.

Verified as of October 29, 2026. Release dates are as announced by Netflix and reported by Korean media, and theatrical availability varies by region. Review and audience details are summaries from Korean press reports.