Lee Chang-dong's first film in eight years to play at Toronto International Film Festival

"Possible Love," auteur Lee Chang-dong's first film in eight years, will play at the Toronto International Film Festival in September, an early stop on a campaign for next year's Academy Awards.

The Netflix production was named to the festival's Special Presentations program, the section reserved for new work by established directors and star-driven titles. Toronto listed the film as a North American premiere.

It follows a laid-off worker and his wife, played by Sul Kyung-gu and Jeon Do-yeon, who meet a wealthy documentary director and his wife, played by Zo In-sung and Cho Yeo-jeong, when a documentary shoot brings the two couples together. Each of them ends up facing a desire they had kept hidden. The film runs 164 minutes and is Lee's seventh feature, and also his first since "Burning" (2018).

Cameron Bailey, the festival's CEO, called Lee an artist who combines overwhelming power with remarkable delicacy, in comments issued through Netflix on Monday. He described "Possible Love" as a forceful work that examines marriage, class and cinema itself, and said it confirms Lee's standing as one of the greatest directors working today. Lee sat on the jury of Toronto's Platform section in 2018.

Korean films that have screened in Special Presentations include "Parasite" (2019), "Decision to Leave" (2022), "The Age of Shadows" (2016) and "The Handmaiden" (2016).

Two more titles with Korean connections are going to Toronto in the Gala Presentations program. Hur Jin-ho's "The Assassin(s)," due in Korean theaters over the Chuseok holiday, revisits the unanswered questions around the shooting of Korea's first lady on Aug. 15, 1974, and who was behind it. Then-first lady Yuk Young-soo was hit by a bullet and died that day after a gunman opened fire on her husband, President Park Chung Hee, during a Liberation Day ceremony at the National Theater in Seoul. The film stars Yoo Hae-jin, Park Hae-il and Lee Min-ho.

The other is "Always Lalisa," a documentary about the Blackpink member Lisa, which will have its world premiere at the festival. Sony Music Vision announced the selection Monday.

The 97-minute film is directed by Sue Kim, whose "The Last of the Sea Women" premiered at Toronto in 2024, and follows Lisa through a year away from the group as she starts a solo career, takes up acting and builds a brand.

Toronto is counted alongside Cannes, Berlin and Venice as one of the world's four major international film festivals, and it is the largest in North America. Its programming leans toward Hollywood and commercial titles, and the festival functions as a gateway to American distribution.

For "Possible Love," which has targeted next year's Academy Awards from the start, the Toronto berth is the first move. Netflix has already decided to release the film in Korean theaters in the third quarter, before it reaches the streaming service, to qualify for the international feature category. A film must open first in the country submitting it and run at least seven consecutive days in a commercial cinema.

Lee's "Burning" previously made the shortlist for the 91st Academy Awards. Announced in December 2018, it was the first Korean film to get that far, but missed the final five.

Korean films had a strong showing at Toronto last year. Yoon Ga-eun's "The World of Love" (2026) became the first Korean film to compete in Platform, the festival's juried section. Park Chan-wook's "No Other Choice" (2025), in Gala Presentations, won the international audience award, which was introduced last year, and its star Lee Byung-hun became the first Korean to take the festival's special tribute award. "Good News" (2025), "Project Y" (2025) and "The Ugly" (2025) also screened in Special Presentations.

The 51st edition of the festival runs Sept. 10 to 20 in Toronto.

BY NA WON-JEONG [[email protected]]