Korean film-Oscar

▲ This still, provided by Netflix, shows a scene from Lee Chang-dong's upcoming feature "Possible Love." (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

SEOUL, Aug. 25 (Yonhap) -- The Korean Film Council (KOFIC) said Tuesday it has selected Lee Chang-dong's "Possible Love" as South Korea's official submission for next year's Academy Awards.

KOFIC's selection committee praised the film for its "cinematic completeness, the clarity of the director's message and its excellent mise-en-scene," the organization said in a release.

The jury also mentioned how Lee richly portrays the multidimensional characters and their complex relationship through profound humanism and delicate direction, his hallmark traits.

The film will be submitted in the Oscar's Best International Feature Film category, which is dedicated to films produced outside the United States. Each country is permitted to submit only one film. Last year, KOFIC selected Park Chan-wook's "No Other Choice."

"Possible Love" marks Lee's first feature film in eight years following the critically acclaimed "Burning" (2018). It features a star-studded cast, including Jeon Do-yeon, Sul Kyung-gu, Zo In-sung and Cho Yeo-jeong.

The film centers on the intertwined lives of two married couples -- laid-off worker Ho-seok (Sul) and his wife Mi-ok (Jeon), and documentary filmmaker Ye-ji (Cho) and her affluent husband Sang-woo (Zo) -- and the story that unfolds as they meet.

It is set to have its world premiere in the main competition section of the Venice International Film Festival next month.

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