Possible Love, Lee Chang-dong’s new feature, has already left Venice with an objective milestone: the film received the Silver Lion – Grand Jury Prize at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival. The award was announced on September 12, 2026, after the film’s world premiere at the festival on September 6. That confirms formal recognition from the Venice jury, but it does not automatically make the film the Golden Lion winner or predict how broader audiences and critics will respond once the release expands.
The release calendar is also becoming clearer. Netflix has confirmed a November 6, 2026 global streaming debut, following theatrical play in selected markets. To understand Lee Chang-dong’s return without mixing up festival selection, awards, and release, it helps to separate what each stage actually establishes.
What happened in Venice — and exactly which award Possible Love won
Possible Love competed in the main Venezia 83 lineup. According to the official Biennale film page, the South Korean film runs 164 minutes, was directed by Lee Chang-dong, and was written by Lee with Oh Jung-mi. The main cast includes Jeon Do-yeon, Sul Kyung-gu, Zo In-sung, and Cho Yeo-jeong.
The world premiere took place on September 6. On September 12, the competition jury chaired by Maggie Gyllenhaal awarded the film the Silver Lion – Grand Jury Prize. The official winners list matters because it shows the hierarchy clearly: the Golden Lion for Best Film went to Woman Unknown, while Possible Love received the Grand Jury Prize. The Silver Lion for Best Director was a separate award, given to Ilya Khrzhanovsky for DAU.
In other words, describing Possible Love simply as a “Silver Lion winner” can hide an important distinction. The Venice recognition is real and competitive, but the award’s full name states exactly what the film won.
From the festival to release: the confirmed calendar
The film’s path does not end in Venice. Netflix says it is also moving through the festival circuit, including Toronto and New York, before its global streaming launch. The official schedule available as of September 16, 2026 is:
| Date | Milestone | What is confirmed |
|---|---|---|
| September 6 | Venice | World premiere of Possible Love. |
| September 12 | Venice | Silver Lion – Grand Jury Prize. |
| September 23 | South Korea | Theatrical release. |
| October 22 | Australia | Theatrical release, according to Netflix. |
| October 23 | Selected markets | Netflix details theatrical releases in the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, and Japan; Tudum summarizes this stage as a selected-theater release. |
| November 6 | Netflix | Global streaming release. |
The territorial dates come from Netflix’s release announcement and the Tudum update after the Venice awards. So far, those sources do not spell out a commercial theatrical release in Brazil. What the global announcement does confirm for Brazilian viewers is Netflix availability on November 6.
Why this is Lee Chang-dong’s first film in eight years
Possible Love is Lee Chang-dong’s first feature since Burning in 2018. Netflix itself frames the movie as the director’s return after eight years, and Lee’s statement published by the Biennale helps explain why the long interval is part of the project’s story.
Lee says he does not begin a film until he is convinced of what it means to him, to the audience, and to cinema. In the case of Possible Love, he connects the project’s origin to the impact of a mass layoff and a violent crackdown on a strike in Korean society. From there, he says he reflected on labor, capital, freedom, and love before turning that impulse into fiction.
That explanation does not mean the movie is a documentary account of that event. It establishes the director’s stated motivation and helps explain why the premise combines class conflict, marriages, and a documentary filmmaker inside the story itself.
What Possible Love is about
The story follows two couples in very different economic circumstances. Mi-ok, played by Jeon Do-yeon, lives with Ho-seok, played by Sul Kyung-gu, who has lost his job. On the other side are Ye-ji, a documentary filmmaker played by Cho Yeo-jeong, and her husband Sang-woo, played by Zo In-sung.
Their paths cross when Ye-ji decides to film laid-off workers and Mi-ok agrees to take part in the project. The encounter draws the four lives together and exposes hidden desires, emotional tensions, and class differences. Venice’s official synopsis describes the core of the film as two married couples crossing paths through a documentary and confronting their different lives and repressed desires.
That premise also explains why Lee Chang-dong’s return is not being presented simply as a romance. The official materials describe a relationship drama in which intimacy and social structure occupy the same narrative space.
What the award confirms — and what it does not prove
- It confirms: Possible Love competed in Venice’s main competition and received the Grand Jury Prize from the festival’s international jury.
- It does not confirm: that it won the Golden Lion, which went to another film.
- It does not confirm: that Lee Chang-dong won Best Director; that category had a different winner.
- It does not confirm: future critical unanimity or audience approval. A jury prize records the decision of a specific group within a specific festival.
- It does not confirm: an Oscar nomination. South Korea selected Possible Love as its submission for Best International Feature, according to Netflix, but a national submission and an official Academy nomination are different stages.
The same caution applies to the premiere response. Tudum reports a six-minute standing ovation in Venice, but the length of applause is not a standardized measure of quality. It can describe the atmosphere in the room; it does not replace reviews, box office results, viewing data, or later audience reception.
What remains open before November 6
With the prize and the main release calendar established, the biggest unknowns now concern reception and distribution. It remains to be seen how the film will be received outside the initial festival circuit, how critical discussion will evolve after commercial releases, and whether additional theatrical dates will be announced in territories not included in Netflix’s current rollout.
The awards-season path is also unresolved. South Korea’s selection puts the film into the Best International Feature process, but it does not settle later stages. Until official shortlists and nominations are announced, the verifiable fact is the country’s submission.
The most precise description of Possible Love at this point, then, is a Venice-awarded return for Lee Chang-dong, with a global Netflix release set for November 6 and a premise connecting marriage, economic inequality, labor, and desire. The Silver Lion – Grand Jury Prize raises the film’s profile, but its broader reception will only take shape once more audiences can see it.
