[Breaking News] 'A 14-Year Triumph': Director Lee Chang-dong's "Possible Love" Wins the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival

*This content was translated by AI.

Director Lee Chang-dong’s new film "Possible Love" has been honored with the Special Jury Prize at the 83rd Venice Film Festival.

"Possible Love" received the Special Jury Prize during the closing ceremony of the 83rd Venice Film Festival held on the 12th (local time) at Palazzo del Cinema in Venice, Italy.

This marks the third time a film by Lee Chang-dong has won an award at the Venice Film Festival, following his 2002 win for "Oasis," which received the Silver Lion Award equivalent to the Best Director prize. At that time, actress Moon So-ri also won the Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best Newcomer alongside "Oasis."

Additionally, this is the first time a Korean film has won an award at the Venice Film Festival since Kim Ki-duk’s "Pieta" in 2012 — a span of 14 years.

With this win, Korean films and actors have now achieved a total of six awards in the competition section of the Venice Film Festival. Previously, in 1987, actress Kang Soo-yeon won the Volpi Cup for Best Actress for Im Kwon-taek’s "Sopyonje"; in 2002, "Oasis" received both the Best Director and Best Newcomer awards; in 2004, Kim Ki-duk’s "The House That Never Dies" won the Best Director award; and in 2012, Kim Ki-duk’s "Pieta" claimed the Golden Lion.

Lee’s film has now collected five trophies across the three major film festivals, including the three awards received in Venice for this work. Previously, in 2007, Jeon Do-yeon won Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival competition section for "Secret Sunshine," and in 2010, "Poetry" won the Best Screenplay award at Cannes.

Immediately after receiving the award, Director Lee Chang-dong said, “I made this film to ask what cinema can do, and what it must do, in an era where labor is disappearing and relationships between people are breaking down.” He added, “I understand that by giving us this prize, you are encouraging us to continue asking these questions.”

He continued, “I am grateful to all the actors and staff who gave their all on set. In particular, I thank the four actors — Jeon Do-yeon, Seol Kyung-gu, Jo In-sung, and Cho Yeo-jeong — who brought life to this film.”

"Possible Love" tells the story of two couples: a laid-off worker and his wife, and a documentary filmmaker and her husband. They meet while working on a documentary project and come face-to-face with their different lives and hidden desires. This is Director Lee Chang-dong’s first new film since "Burning" (2018), eight years later. The film has already attracted international attention from the global film community, having been officially selected for the competition section of the 83rd Venice International Film Festival and the Special Presentation section of the 51st Toronto International Film Festival prior to its release.

Subsequently, the Korean Film Council announced that "Possible Love" has been selected as South Korea’s official entry for the Best International Feature Film category at the 99th Academy Awards in the United States.

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*This content was translated by AI.