Netflix is throwing its weight behind Lee Chang-dong's latest drama, "Possible Love," with a full-scale awards campaign that will position Jeon Do-yeon as its centerpiece contender for Best Actress, Hollywood Buzz News has learned.
The streaming giant's decision, confirmed by multiple people familiar with the strategy who spoke on condition of anonymity, marks one of the company's most aggressive awards plays for a Korean-language film to date. The campaign will focus on a theatrical and guild rollout designed to put the 165-minute drama in front of Academy voters ahead of nomination voting.
"Possible Love" opened in theaters on September 23, 2026, and has since built a rare combination of critical admiration and audience enthusiasm. On TMDb, the film currently holds a 9 out of 10 rating, a figure that underscores the intensity of its early reception.
The film reunites Lee with Jeon Do-yeon, the actress who won the Best Actress prize at the Cannes Film Festival for their 2007 collaboration "Secret Sunshine." That history gives the campaign a ready-made narrative for voters: one of Korea's most celebrated directors and one of its most decorated actors, working together again nearly two decades later.
Jeon plays Mi-ok, a woman navigating the aftermath of her husband's layoff. Sul Kyung-gu co-stars as Ho-seok, the laid-off worker, with Zo In-sung as Sang-woo, Cho Yeo-jeong as Ye-ji, Jeong Seop as Cheol, and Jo Yuri, Choi Min and Jeon Woon-jong rounding out the cast as Young Mi-ok, Young Ho-seok and Jeong-dae, respectively.
The plot centers on a collision between two couples: Mi-ok and Ho-seok cross paths with a documentary filmmaker and her spouse, a meeting that forces all four characters to confront desires they have kept hidden. It is territory Lee has explored before - ordinary lives under pressure, desire and shame tangled together - but here stretched across a nearly three-hour runtime that has become a talking point among awards watchers.
A Best Actress Campaign Built on Familiar Ground
Positioning Jeon at the front of the push is a deliberate choice. In the 19 years since "Secret Sunshine," she has remained one of the most respected performers in the Korean film industry, moving between film and television while avoiding the kind of career choices that dull an actor's edge. Voters who remember her Cannes win now have a chance to reward a second collaboration with the director who drew it out of her.
The Best Actress field this season is expected to be crowded, and Netflix has not announced a release date for its full campaign calendar. But people involved in the planning described the strategy as "performance-forward," with Jeon scheduled for a series of in-person appearances and conversations in the coming months.
Netflix's Track Record and the Road Ahead
Netflix has spent recent years investing heavily in prestige titles from Korea, and "Possible Love" arrives as one of its most substantial bets. The company's awards operation has previously helped Korean-language projects secure nominations and wins, and the film's genre - straight drama, no genre scaffolding - fits the profile of titles that perform well with the Academy's actors branch, which tends to reward performance-driven work.
The film's commercial performance in theaters will not be the deciding factor for Netflix, which has repeatedly demonstrated that it will sustain a campaign regardless of box-office results. What matters more is whether the film's 165-minute runtime and intimate scale can hold voters' attention through a long season.
For Lee, "Possible Love" represents a return to the kind of film that built his international reputation: patient, character-driven and unafraid of uncomfortable emotional terrain. For Jeon, it offers a role that puts her at the center of nearly every scene, a showcase that campaign strategists are already describing internally as the strongest of her career.
Whether the Academy responds will not be known until nominations are announced. But Netflix's decision to commit to a full push, confirmed before the film has even finished its first month in theaters, signals confidence that "Possible Love" belongs in the conversation - and that Jeon Do-yeon is the reason to watch it.
Source: Hollywood Reporter
