"Possible Love" Release Plan and Awards Push
Netflix has confirmed a combined theatrical and streaming rollout for "Possible Love," the first feature in eight years from Korean auteur Lee Chang-dong, designed to position the film for awards season. The film will open in Korean theaters on September 23, followed by Australia on October 22, and the U.S., Canada, UK, Ireland and Japan on October 23, before streaming worldwide on Netflix from November 6.
The release schedule is structured so the film qualifies for the Best International Feature Film category at next year's Academy Awards as well as for other categories. "Possible Love" will make its world premiere in competition at the Venice Film Festival in September and has been selected for the Special Presentations section of the Toronto International Film Festival.
Cast, Filmmakers and Production Credits
"Possible Love" follows two married couples — a laid-off worker and his wife, and a documentary filmmaker and her husband — whose lives collide when the filmmaker begins documenting the first couple. Lee directs from a screenplay he co-wrote with Oh Jung-mi, his collaborator on "Burning." The film is a U.S.-Korea co-production from Pinehouse Film, Anonymous Content and NOWFILM.
The cast reunites Lee with earlier collaborators Jeon Do-yeon, who won the Cannes best actress prize for "Secret Sunshine" (2007), and Sul Kyung-gu, the lead of "Peppermint Candy" (1999) and "Oasis" (2002). They are joined by Zo In-sung and Cho Yeo-jeong. Lee's previous films include "Burning" (2018), which won the FIPRESCI Prize at Cannes and became the first Korean film shortlisted for an Oscar in the international feature category; "Oasis," which won Best Director at Venice in 2002; and "Poetry" (2010), which was awarded Best Screenplay at Cannes.
Lawsuit From Former Eyeline Studios Executive
Separately, Netflix is facing a lawsuit from Kevin Baillie, a former Vice President and Head of Creative at Eyeline Studios, Netflix's visual effects division. Baillie alleges he was terminated weeks after disclosing during a January retreat at a Netflix-owned California property that he had undergone physician-supervised ketamine therapy in late 2022 to cope with depression following his mother's death.
According to the complaint, the disclosure was made during a "vulnerability-trust exercise," and a company attorney acknowledged that "the ketamine therapy issue has factored into the termination." The lawsuit also raises questions about alcohol consumption at company events, alleging Eyeline Studios CEO Jeff Shapiro encouraged drinking, kept a personal bar in his office, and was present with alcohol at multiple work gatherings, including Netflix Annual Business Review events and a Lakers game attended by Netflix executives in February 2026. Baillie is seeking compensatory damages, lost wages, emotional distress damages and punitive damages, and has requested a jury trial.
Creator Economy Acquisition and Industry Context
The Lee Chang-dong rollout comes as Netflix continues to extend its footprint in the creator economy. According to industry tracking cited by Inc., Netflix acquired InterPositive, an AI filmmaking startup associated with Ben Affleck, for $587 million in a deal struck in the first half of 2026. The transaction ranked among the largest creator-economy M&A deals of the period, behind only eBay's $1.2 billion purchase of resale app Depop.
Across the creator economy, buyers completed a record 70 deals in the first half of 2026 — 23 percent more than a year earlier — with media companies accounting for the largest share of transactions for the first time on record, ahead of software, agencies and talent managers. North America accounted for roughly 64 percent of activity, with U.S. targets representing about 59 percent of deals.
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