Possible Love (Lee Chang-dong, S. Korea, 2026)

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Possible Love
(Lee Chang-dong, 2026, 164 min, S. Korea, Korean with English subtitles, DCP)

Marking his first release in eight years, highly acclaimed director Lee Chang-dong brings his signature nuance to Possible Love, capturing shifting emotions, conflicts, and contrasting outlooks that shape these relationships. 

-- South Korea's official selection for International Feature Film at the 2027 Academy Awards

-- Winner of the Silver Lion (Grand Jury Prize) and FIPRESCI (International Federation of Film Critics) prize for Best Film in Competition, at the 2026 Venice Film Festival 

Lee Chang-dong is one of South Korea’s leading auteurs, with an international reputation for films that probe contemporary humanity and society. His acclaimed works include Green Fish (1997), Peppermint Candy (1999), Oasis (2002; Venice Best Director), Secret Sunshine (2007; Cannes Best Actress), Poetry (2010; Cannes Best Screenplay), and Burning (2018; Cannes FIPRESCI Prize).

Possible Love follows the intertwined relationship of two married couples. Ho-seok, a former factory worker dismissed after a violent labor strike, struggles with the emotional scars of his past. His wife, Mi-ok, remains devoted to him, but their marriage is strained by unspoken frustrations and desires. Their lives change when Ye-ji, a documentary filmmaker, begins filming them for a project about laid-off workers and their families. What starts as an attempt to understand their lives gradually becomes more complicated, as the line between empathy and exploitation begins to blur. Ye-ji's husband, Sang-woo, comes from a very different, more privileged world. As the two couples grow closer, hidden desires and tensions emerge, forcing them to confront love, class, marriage, and the difficult boundaries between compassion and possession.

"As richly drawn and intricately crafted as any feature this year, and a surefire contender for best of 2026 honors." -- Nick Schager, The Daily Beast

"Every moment in Possible Love crackles like a wicked symphony of striated socioeconomic abrasion; every gesture, comment, and detail sharpens the strange geometry that brings these people closer together at the same time as it deepens the divides that will ultimately keep them apart." -- David Ehrlich, IndieWire

"[Possible Love] unfolds with surprise and inevitability held in such perfect balance that each moment feels like it's telling you something you've always known, but have just never thought of before." -- Jessica Kiang, Variety

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