Lee Chang-dong's 'Possible Love' Wins Silver Lion at Venice, 24 Years After Last Win

[Anchor]

Director Lee Chang-dong's film 'Possible Love' has won the Silver Lion, the second-highest prize, at the Venice Film Festival. Director Lee stated that he will continue to question what cinema can achieve in this day and age.

Reporting from Venice, this is correspondent Kwon Yeongin.

[Reporter]

[Maggie Gyllenhaal / Jury President of the Venice Film Festival: The Grand Jury Prize goes to 'Possible Love' by Director Lee Chang-dong.]

The Grand Jury Prize at this year's Venice Film Festival, the world's oldest film festival, went to 'Possible Love' by Director Lee Chang-dong.

Although he is a master filmmaker well past his seventieth year, he remained shy and humble as he accepted the Silver Lion trophy.

However, his acceptance speech carried a heavy message.

[Lee Chang-dong / Director of 'Possible Love': In an era where labor is disappearing, and in an era where connections between people are breaking down, I made this film to question what we can do with cinema, and what cinema must do.]

The Grand Jury Prize is the most prestigious award following the top honor, the Golden Lion.

Director Lee, who previously won the Silver Lion for Best Director at the Venice Film Festival in 2002 with the film 'Oasis', has once again received the Silver Lion 24 years later with his new release, 'Possible Love', presented 8 years after his previous work.

This marks the first time a Korean film has won an award in the competition section of the Venice Film Festival in 14 years, since the late director Kim Ki-duk's 'Pieta' won the Golden Lion in 2012.

'Possible Love' uses the recording process of a documentary filmmaker capturing the suffering of a married couple whose lives are shaken by a conglomerate's mass layoffs as its central theme.

Prior to this award, the film also won the FIPRESCI (International Federation of Film Critics) Award, repeatedly gaining recognition for its artistic merit, and has been submitted to the U.S. Academy Awards scheduled for March of next year.

[Lee Chang-dong / Director of 'Possible Love': I have high expectations for whether the story we try to tell through the film can be shared with the audience and resonate with each other.]

This year's Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival was awarded to 'Woman Unknown' directed by Maï Eltoukhy, set in Denmark during World War II, while the Silver Lion for Best Director went to Ilya Khrzhanovsky for 'DAU'.

Director Lee Chang-dong's 'Possible Love' will make its premiere before domestic audiences starting on the 23rd, following its screening at the Toronto International Film Festival.

(Photo: Yonhap News) (Video footage: Kim Si-nae, Video editing: Choi Hye-ran)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.