South Korea has chosen Possible Love, directed by Lee Chang-dong, as its official submission for the Best International Feature Film category at the 99th Academy Awards. The decision marks the return of one of world cinema’s most patient observers of human frailty, arriving eight years after his celebrated mystery drama Burning.
The Korean Film Council announced the selection following deliberations by a fifteen-member committee led by film critic Jung Sung-il. In an official release, the panel praised the film’s visual restraint, its clear directorial vision, and its layered examination of social pressure, desire, and subtle forms of everyday violence.
The committee took the unusual step of openly citing the project’s broader awards trajectory. The panel highlighted strong early attention from North American critics, alongside plans for a coordinated awards push from Netflix that aims to compete in the Best Picture category.
An Intersecting Portrait of Two Households
The film charts the uneasy relationship between two married couples brought together by a documentary project. Jeon Do-yeon, who won the Best Actress prize at Cannes for Lee’s 2007 film Secret Sunshine, stars as Mi-ok. She lives quietly with her young son and her husband Ho-seok, played by Sul Kyung-gu, an unemployed labourer struggling with job loss.
Their routine shifts when Ye-ji, played by Parasite star Cho Yeo-jeong, enters their lives to direct a non-fiction film documenting displaced industrial workers. As filming progresses, Mi-ok forms a bond with Ye-ji while experiencing an unsettling attraction to Ye-ji’s husband Sang-woo, played by Zo In-sung.
The shared time peels back the social distance between the four adults, exposing vulnerabilities, hidden desires, and fundamental fractures within both marriages.
Lee wrote the screenplay in collaboration with his Burning co-writer Oh Jung-mi. The production brings together South Korea’s Pinehouse Film and Nowfilm alongside the American production company Anonymous Content.
Autumn Festival Run and Theatrical Rollout
Possible Love will make its world premiere in official competition at the Venice Film Festival, followed by its North American premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. The autumn festival tour also includes screenings in New York, San Sebastián, Zurich, and Vancouver.
To meet Academy eligibility rules, the film will open in South Korean cinemas on 23 September 2026. A theatrical release follows in Australia on 22 October, before expanding to cinemas across the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Ireland, and Japan on 23 October.
The project will launch globally on Netflix on 6 November 2026. The 99th Academy Awards ceremony will take place in Los Angeles on 14 March 2027.
