A still from ‘Possible Love’
| Photo Credit: Netflix
Netflix has unveiled the first trailer for Lee Chang-dong’s Possible Love, the South Korean auteur’s first feature since his acclaimed 2018 drama Burning. The film stars Jeon Do-yeon, Sul Kyung-gu, Zo In-sung and Cho Yeo-jeong and will premiere in Competition at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival, where it will compete for the Golden Lion.
Possible Love follows two married couples whose lives collide through a documentary project. Mi-ok (Jeon Do-yeon) and Ho-seok (Sul Kyung-gu) are a working-class couple dealing with Ho-seok’s dismissal from his job, while Ye-ji (Cho Yeo-jeong) is a documentary filmmaker who decides to make a film about laid-off workers. She and her affluent husband Sang-woo (Zo In-sung) become increasingly entangled with the other couple as the project develops.
The trailer sets up the tension between the four characters through a seemingly ordinary summer getaway, gradually revealing the resentments and emotional fractures beneath their relationships. Lee has described the film as a story about the different forms love can take and the choices people make to protect it, while the film also brings questions of class and economic insecurity into the relationships at its centre.
The film reunites Lee with Jeon Do-yeon after their collaboration on Secret Sunshine, which earned Jeon the Best Actress award at Cannes in 2007. Possible Love also marks Lee’s return to Venice after 24 years. His 2002 drama Oasis premiered at the festival, where he won the Silver Lion for Best Director and the FIPRESCI Prize.
At 164 minutes, Possible Love is Lee’s first feature since Burning, which premiered in Competition at Cannes in 2018 and won the FIPRESCI Prize. The new film has already secured a substantial festival run, with screenings planned at the Toronto International Film Festival, New York Film Festival, San Sebastián, Zurich and Vancouver following Venice.
The film has also taken on a significant awards position ahead of its release. South Korea has selected Possible Love as its official submission for the Best International Feature Film category at the 99th Academy Awards, with the Korea Film Council citing the film’s quality, visual craftsmanship and Lee’s handling of complex human relationships.
Possible Love will open in South Korean cinemas on September 23 before arriving in select international theatres and debuting globally on Netflix on November 6.
Published – August 27, 2026 12:32 pm IST
