[Edaily Starin Choi Hee-jae Reporter] “This film is a story that explores the lives of laid-off workers, class, the ethics of creators, and the relationships between people.”

Director Lee Chang-dong explained the themes he explored in “Possible Love,” his first new film in eight years, in this way. He meant that rather than simplistically defining reality with a single message, he wanted to examine today’s world from multiple layers—including labor, class, relationships, and the creator’s perspective.
At a press conference for the Netflix film *Possible Love* held on the 21st at CGV Yongsan I’Park Mall in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, Director Lee said of winning the Grand Jury Prize (Silver Lion) at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival, “I am sincerely happy and honored, but the award is merely a result.” He continued, “It was far more important to me how the film would be received when it first came out and met the audience,” adding, “I was truly happy that audiences felt and responded to the questions the film raises, even though it isn’t an easy or sensational film.”
“Possible Love,” which opens in theaters on the 23rd, interweaves the stories of Ho-seok (Seol Kyung-gu) and Mi-ok (Jeon Do-yeon), a couple of laid-off workers, with those of Sang-woo (Jo In-sung) and Ye-ji (Jo Yeo-jeong), a documentary filmmaker couple trying to capture their lives on film.
Director Lee remarked, “The reality we live in isn’t that simple,” adding, “Through the stories of these two couples, I wanted to experience and reflect on various complex aspects of life together with the audience.”
Regarding the film’s extended scenes featuring interviews with laid-off workers and psychological therapy sessions, he explained, “While these might feel long and tedious by conventional cinematic standards, I wanted to convey the stories of those who lost their jobs and their sense of identity directly, as if through a real documentary.”
This project was one he had set aside about a decade ago. Director Lee revealed that while he had begun preparing the film after being deeply shaken by mass layoffs, strikes, and incidents of forced suppression at the time, he “wasn’t confident that I had the right to tell this story honestly.” He was later able to revisit the story after adding the premise of a couple who are documentary filmmakers.
“The question of whether it’s possible to tell a story without exploiting others’ lives or using them as material for a film is one I still struggle to answer,” he said, adding, “Through this film, I want to share that question with the audience.”
Jeon Do-yeon remarked, “Money and class can undermine a person’s values and even rob them of their very identity,” adding, “‘Possible Love’ is a film that makes us reflect on how to preserve our own worth and relationships even under such circumstances.”