President Lee Congratulates Director Lee Chang-dong on Venice Film Festival Win: "Expanding the Diversity of Korean Cinema"

President Lee Jae-myung has congratulated Director Lee Chang-dong on winning the Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize at the Venice International Film Festival.

President Lee posted on his X (formerly Twitter) account earlier today, stating, "Director Lee's 'Possible Love' has won the Grand Jury Prize at the Venice International Film Festival."

Director Lee Chang-dong received the Grand Jury Prize, considered the second-highest honor, for his new film 'Possible Love' at the closing ceremony of the 83rd Venice International Film Festival held on Lido Island, Italy, on the afternoon of the 12th. This marks the first time a South Korean film has won the Grand Jury Prize at the Venice International Film Festival.

President Lee wrote, "When I met the director and the actors at the recent Lumière Summit, I heard firsthand about the enthusiastic local response to the project. I am all the more delighted that the expectations from back then have blossomed into such wonderful results."

He added, "I hope this award serves as an opportunity to further broaden the diversity of our cinema and allow more great works to connect with global audiences."

He also added, "I extend my sincere congratulations once again to Director Lee and all the cast and crew. I will continue to cheer on the brilliant journey of Korean cinema."

During his state visit to France, President Lee met with Director Lee Chang-dong, Sul Kyung-gu, and Jeon Do-yeon at the Lumière Summit held in Saint-Paul-de-Vence on the 7th. At the time, the team of 'Possible Love' was staying on Lido Island in Venice to attend the film festival and traveled to France to meet with the President. During this gathering, Director Lee Chang-dong and the actors shared the difficulties faced by the film industry, and President Lee promised continued government support.

Following that schedule, Director Lee Chang-dong returned to Venice, delivering joyous news to the Korean film industry about a week later.

'Possible Love' is Director Lee Chang-dong's first new film in eight years, following works like 'Secret Sunshine', 'Poetry', and 'Burning'. The story follows two couples—a fired worker and his wife, alongside a documentary director and her husband—who meet to produce a documentary, confronting each other's different lives and hidden desires. Distributed as a Netflix film, it will have a limited theatrical release on September 23 before being released globally via Netflix on November 6.

  

(Photo: Yonhap News / Reported by Kim Ji-hye, SBS Entertainment News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.