Lee Chang-dong became the first Korean director to receive the TIFF Ebert Director Award on September 13, at the 51st Toronto International Film Festival. The honor recognizes "visionary directors whose ground-breaking storytelling and distinct artistic achievements have left an indelible impact on global cinema." Past recipients include Guillermo del Toro, Denis Villeneuve, Sam Mendes, Mike Leigh, and Chloé Zhao.
The award arrives during an exceptional week for Chang-dong. His latest film, Possible Love, won the Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival on September 12. It is the first Korean film to take that prize. The film also received the FIPRESCI Prize from international critics. Possible Love is Chang-dong's first feature since Burning in 2018.
The film follows two married couples across a summer shaped by economic precarity. One husband has lost his job; the other wife is a documentary filmmaker recording the lives of displaced workers. According to Malay Mail, the story unfolds across "a world reshaped by immigration, artificial intelligence and mass layoffs." The cast includes Jeon Do-yeon, Seol Kyung-gu, Cho Yeo-jeong, and Zo In-sung. Chang-dong described the film's central question: "In an age when love seems impossible, I wanted the film to ask what kind of love is still possible, and what we need to do to make love possible."
The film screens in Special Presentations at TIFF through September 20. A Korean theatrical release follows on September 23, with a global Netflix premiere on November 6. Possible Love has also been selected as South Korea's submission for Best International Feature Film at the 2027 Academy Awards. The Venice connection runs deep for Chang-dong: he won the Silver Lion for Best Director at the same festival in 2002 for Oasis.
