Director Lee Chang-dong on Sept. 12 holds his trophy at the closing ceremony of this year's Venice Film Festival after his film "Possible Love" won the Grand Jury Prize. (Getty Images)

By Xu Aiying
Video = Netflix

Director Lee Chang-dong's new feature "Possible Love" is the first Korean film to win the Grand Jury Prize (Silver Lion) at the Venice International Film Festival of Italy.

His work was announced on Sept. 12 as the winner of the honor at the closing ceremony, Lee's first prize at the festival in over two decades since he won Best Director for "Oasis" in 2002.

"At a time when labor is disappearing and relationships between people are breaking down, I made this film to ask what I can do through cinema and what cinema must do," he said in his acceptance speech. "I consider this award a sign to keep asking these questions."

"Possible Love" -- Lee's first feature film in eight years since 2018's "Burning" and his first made for Netflix -- is about Mi-ok (Jeon Do-yeon) and her laid-off husband Ho-seok (Sul Kyung-gu) and their meeting with documentary director Ye-ji (Cho Yeo-jeong), who is working on a piece on laid-off workers, and her husband Sang-woo (Zo In-sung), who comes from a wealthy family.

The film depicts how different socioeconomic backgrounds affect one's life and desires.

It also earned the FIPRESCI Prize of the Germany-based International Federation of Film Critics before the closing ceremony.

The Golden Lion, the top prize at the Venice festival, went to "Woman Unknown" by director May el-Toukhy, and the Silver Lion for Best Director to Ilya Khrzhanovsky for "Dau."

Director Lee Chang-dong (from left) and actors Sul Kyung-gu, Jeon Do-yeon, Cho Yeo-jeong and Zo In-sung of "Possible Love" on Sept. 6 pose on the red carpet event in Venice, Italy, at this year's Venice International Film Festival. (Netflix)

President Lee Jae Myung on Sept. 13 conveyed his congratulations to the director, saying, "When I met the director and cast at the recent Lumiere Summit, I directly heard from them the immense local interest in the film," adding, "I'm all the more pleased to see the expectations I had at the time bear positive results."

"I hope this award is an opportunity to widen the diversity of Korean cinema and enable more outstanding works to reach global audiences," the president added. "I will continue backing the remarkable journey of Korean cinema."

xuaiy@korea.kr