[E-Daily Starin Choi Hee-jae Reporter] World-renowned director Lee Chang-dong brought good news from Venice after winning the Grand Jury Prize for his new film, "Love Possible."

“Possible Love” won the Grand Jury Prize (Silver Lion) at the closing ceremony of the 83rd Venice International Film Festival, held on the 12th (local time) at the “Palazzo del Cinema” (Palace of Cinema) on the Lido Island in Venice, Italy.
The Grand Jury Prize is the second-highest honor at the festival, following the top prize, the Golden Lion, and this marks the first time a Korean film has received the Grand Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival.
Director Lee Chang-dong took the stage and said, “I would like to thank the Venice Film Festival for inviting me to this beautiful festival after 24 years,” adding, “This film would never have seen the light of day without the patience and perseverance of so many people.” He went on to express his gratitude to producer Lee Jun-dong, CEO of Fine House; Netflix; screenwriter Oh Jeong-mi; and his family.
Director Lee also mentioned the four lead actors—Jeon Do-yeon, Seol Kyung-gu, Jo In-sung, and Jo Yeo-jeong—who delivered passionate performances, saying, “I am sincerely grateful to the four actors who breathed life into this film,” and credited them by saying, “This award belongs to you.”
He explained, “I made this film to ask what cinema can do—and what it cannot do—in an era where labor is disappearing and human connections are fraying,” adding, “I will take this award as an encouragement to continue asking those questions.”
Director Lee, who previously won the Silver Lion for Best Director, the International Federation of Film Critics Award, and the Newcomer Award (Moon So-ri) for “Oasis” in 2002, has now added another prestigious award to his collection 24 years later. This marks the first time in 14 years that a Korean film has won an award in the Venice Film Festival’s main competition, following Director Kim Ki-duk’s *Pieta*, which won the Golden Lion in 2012.
The Golden Lion was awarded that day to “Woman Unknown” by director Mai El-Touki. Set in Denmark immediately after World War II, the film tells the story of Marie, a young woman who hides her past as the former lover of a German soldier.
*Love in the Possible* is director Lee Chang-dong’s first feature film in eight years, following *Burning* (2018). The film follows two couples—Ho-seok (played by Sul Kyung-gu), a laid-off worker, and his wife Mi-ok (played by Jeon Do-yeon); and documentary director Ye-ji (played by Jo Yeo-jeong) and her husband Sang-woo (played by Jo In-sung)—who meet to produce a documentary and come face-to-face with each other’s different lives and hidden desires.
Following its selection as South Korea’s entry for the Best International Feature Film category at the 99th Academy Awards, the film has been invited to major international film festivals, including Toronto, New York, San Sebastián, Zurich, Vancouver, and the Busan International Film Festival.
“Possible Love” opens in select theaters on the 23rd and will be released on Netflix on November 6.