South Korea has submitted Lee Chang-dong’s Possible Love as its entry for best international feature at the 2027 Oscars, ahead of its world premiere in Competition at the Venice Film Festival.
The decision was announced by the Korean Film Council (Kofic) and was chosen by a 15-strong jury, chaired by critic and Cafe Noir director Jung Sung-il.
Selecting the title, the jury noted Lee’s signature humanism and delicate direction, as well as the dense portrayal of multi-dimensional characters and the multi-layered nature of relationships. The high level of interest from international media and the success of the filmmaker’s previous works was also considered.
It marks the fourth time Lee has represented South Korea at the Academy Awards following Oasis in 2003, Secret Sunshine in 2008, and Burning, which made history in 2019 as the first Korean film to be shortlisted for the best foreign language film Oscar.
Possible Love is about two married couples — a laid-off worker and his wife, and a documentary director and her husband — who cross paths while making a film together, bringing both marriages face to face with their different lives and hidden desires.
It is led by a powerhouse cast of Jeon Do-yeon, who won best actress at Cannes in 2007 for Secret Sunshine; Sul Kyung-gu, who starred in Lee’s Peppermint Candy and Oasis; Zo In-sung, seen recently in Na Hong-jin’s action thriller Hope; and Cho Yeo-jeong from four-time Oscar winner Parasite.
Following its debut at Venice on September 6, the film will receive its North American premiere at Toronto. Theatrical releases will follow in South Korea, Australia, North America, UK-Ireland and Japan before streaming globally on Netflix from November 6.
Netflix previously scooped the best international feature film Oscar with Alfonso Cuarón’s Roma in 2019 and Edward Berger’s All Quiet On The Western Front in 2023.
Lee also co-wrote the screenplay with Oh Jung-mi and the film is produced by Korea’s Pinehouse Film, Nowfilm and US banner Anonymous Content.
Last year, South Korea submitted Park Chan-wook’s No Other Choice, which made it to the shortlist stage but did not secure a nomination.
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