Lee Chang-dong's "Possible Love," which took home a major prize at the Venice Film Festival earlier this month, has been added to the lineup of AFI Fest 2026, the American Film Institute announced Tuesday. The Korean-language drama, which opened in theaters on September 23, will screen at the Los Angeles festival as part of its international selections, giving North American audiences a fresh look at one of the year's most talked-about art-house titles.

The film marks Lee's return to feature directing after an eight-year gap, and it arrives with considerable momentum. Venice audiences rewarded the picture with a top honor, and its current TMDb rating sits at a striking 9 out of 10 - a figure that speaks to the fervor of early viewers, even if such numbers tend to settle over time.

Clocking in at 165 minutes, "Possible Love" is not a quick sit. But Lee has never been a filmmaker in a hurry. The story follows a laid-off worker and his wife whose lives intersect with those of a documentary filmmaker and her spouse. What begins as a chance encounter gradually strips away the polite surfaces of both marriages, forcing four people to reckon with desires they have kept buried. It is familiar territory for Lee, who has spent his career probing the quiet violence of ordinary lives, though here the canvas feels both more intimate and more sprawling.

A Cast of Korean Cinema Heavyweights

The ensemble is led by Jeon Do-yeon as Ahn Mi-ok and Sul Kyung-gu as Choi Ho-seok, the couple at the story's emotional center. Both actors have collaborated with Lee before - Jeon in "Secret Sunshine," which won her the best actress prize at Cannes in 2007, and Sul in "Peppermint Candy" and "Oasis." Their reunion with the director has been a major draw for festival programmers.

Zo In-sung plays Sang-woo, while Cho Yeo-jeong appears as Lee Ye-ji, the documentary filmmaker whose professional habit of observing others gradually turns into something more uncomfortable. The supporting cast includes Jeong Seop as Choi Cheol, Jo Yuri as a younger version of Mi-ok, Choi Min as a younger Ho-seok, and Kang Gil-woo in a small turn as a funeral guest - a detail that hints at the film's preoccupation with mortality and ritual.

Venice to Los Angeles: A Familiar Path

AFI Fest has long served as a launching pad for international titles hoping to build awards-season buzz in the United States. By slotting "Possible Love" into its 2026 program, the festival gives Lee's film a prominent West Coast berth just as critics' groups begin their year-end deliberations. The timing is hardly accidental. A Venice winner with a recognizable auteur behind it and a cast of established stars tends to fare well in the crowded fall corridor.

For Lee, the AFI Fest selection extends a relationship with American audiences that stretches back decades. His 2018 film "Burning" became a crossover success and landed on numerous year-end lists, though it famously missed out on an Oscar nomination for best international feature - a snub that still rankles some of his admirers. "Possible Love" arrives with enough critical backing to suggest another long awards run, though the film's length and its deliberately unhurried pace may test the patience of viewers accustomed to faster storytelling.

What seems clear is that Lee has not softened his approach. The premise - two couples, one economic crisis, a documentary project that blurs the line between observer and participant - suggests the same preoccupation with class, shame, and the stories people tell themselves to survive. Whether "Possible Love" can replicate the commercial breakthrough of "Burning" remains an open question, but its festival trajectory is already enviable.

AFI Fest 2026 is scheduled to run in Los Angeles later this fall. Specific screening dates and venues for "Possible Love" have not yet been announced. The film remains in theaters following its September 23 release.

Source: Hollywood Reporter