Venice Film Festival opens today; Lee Chang-dong’s ‘Possible Love’ vies for Golden Lion

Lee Chang-dong’s ‘Possible Love’ returns to Venice after 24 years… set for worldwide release on Nov. 6

Netflix film marks his return to the director’s chair after eight years as it competes with 20 contenders for the top prize

A master’s return: Breaking 24 years of silence on the island of Lido

The 83rd Venice Film Festival, one of the world’s three major film festivals, opens in grand fashion on the island of Lido in Venice, Italy, on the 2nd (local time). With the global film community watching closely, 20 films have been officially selected for the feature-film competition, led by Korean master director Lee Chang-dong’s new work, Possible Love, and will compete for the festival’s top honor, the Golden Lion.

The Korean film industry has achieved a major milestone with a second consecutive entry in the Venice competition, following director Park Chan-wook’s ‘No Other Choice’ last year. Expectations are building over whether Korea will receive more good news after the late director Kim Ki-duk’s ‘Pietà’ became the first Korean film to win the Golden Lion in 2012.

The selection also carries special significance for Lee Chang-dong personally. It marks his return to the Venice competition after 24 years, following ‘Oasis,’ which swept three awards in 2002: Best Director, Best New Actress for Moon So-ri and the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) Prize.

New film comes eight years after ‘Burning’ in a high-stakes showdown with global masters

Produced by Netflix, Possible Love closely portrays the tensions that unfold as a laid-off worker couple and a documentary-director couple become entangled in making a single film. Returning to the director’s chair eight years after ‘Burning’ (2018), Lee drew early attention from critics worldwide with a powerhouse cast that includes Jeon Do-yeon, Sol Kyung-gu, Jo In-sung and Jo Yeo-jeong. The film will open early at select theaters in South Korea on the 23rd before being released simultaneously worldwide on Netflix on Nov. 6.

This year’s Venice competition lineup is more fiercely contested than ever. Japanese master director Hirokazu Kore-eda has joined the Golden Lion race with ‘Look Back,’ a live-action adaptation of the popular manga by Tatsuki Fujimoto, the creator of ‘Chainsaw Man.’ After being selected in May for the 79th Cannes International Film Festival with ‘Sheep in a Box,’ Kore-eda has earned the distinction of appearing in the competition programs of the world’s two leading film festivals in the same year.

Other highly anticipated titles in the lineup include Danny Boyle’s ‘Ink,’ ‘Company,’ directed by acclaimed Hollywood actor Casey Affleck, ‘Bucking Bastard,’ starring sisters Kate Mara and Rooney Mara, and ‘Wild Horse Nine’ from director Martin McDonagh. Maggie Gyllenhaal, one of Hollywood’s leading actor-directors, will chair this year’s competition jury, promising rigorous and incisive judging.

The 83rd Venice Film Festival will run for 11 days through the 12th and conclude with its closing ceremony that day, when the winning films will be announced.