As recent exports can attest — see Parasite, Squid Game, and last year’s No Other Choice — the economic disparities between the super-rich and the rest of us is a prevailing concern among Korea’s leading filmmakers. In his first film since 2018’s Burning (itself a rumination on the wealth divide), director Lee Chang-dong explores the questionable practices of a wealthy filmmaker (Cho Yeo-jeong) who turns her documentary camera on the workers laid off following a bitter strike. The angry, taciturn Ho-seok (Sul Kyun-gu) becomes a potential subject, and our on-screen documentarian becomes friendly with his wife Mi-ok (Jeon Do-yeon), but does empathy have its limits?
Didn’t get a ticket? Just want to see it again? Possible Love will be returning to the VIFF Centre starting Oct 23.
Oscars submission: South Korea
Jeon Do-yeon, Sul Kyung-gu, Zo In-sung, Cho Yeo-jeong
South Korea
2026
In Korean with English subtitles
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Credits & Director
Executive Producer
Nick Shumaker, Maciej Musial, Krzysztof Piesiewicz
Producer
Lee Joon-dong, Lee Chang-dong, David Levine, Chadwick Prichard
Screenwriter
Lee Chang-dong, Oh Jung-mi
Cinematography
Kim Ji-yong
Editor
Kim Da-won
Production Design
Jang Min-woo
Original Music
Jung Jaeil
Lee Chang-dong
Lee Chang-dong is one of South Korea’s leading auteurs, having built an international reputation through films that contemplate contemporary society. Beginning his career as a novelist before transitioning into cinema, Chang-dong has established a unique cinematic universe defined by restrained direction and densely woven narratives. He has directed numerous acclaimed works including Oasis (2002), which won Best Director at the Venice Film Festival, as well as Cannes award-winners Secret Sunshine (2007; Best Actress winner) and Poetry (2010; Best Screenplay winner). His 2018 work Burning garnered the FIPRESCI Prize at Cannes and received international critical acclaim.
Filmography: Poetry (2010); Burning (2018); Heartfelt (2022)
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