KB News Desk
‘Possible Love’ and ‘Paradise Lost’ join special presentations lineup at the festival’s 51st edition
Two of South Korea’s most celebrated directors are taking their new films to Toronto.
Lee Chang-dong’s “Possible Love” and Yeon Sang-ho’s “Paradise Lost” have been invited to the Special Presentations section of the 51st Toronto International Film Festival, organizers announced Monday.
A noncompetitive showcase for new work by major directors, Special Presentations has previously hosted “Parasite” (2019) and “Decision to Leave” (2022).
The selections bring the Korean count to three across the festival’s two flagship programs, following the earlier announcement that Hur Jin-ho’s “The Assassin(s)” would hold its world premiere as a gala title.
“Possible Love,” Lee’s first feature since “Burning” (2018), heads to Toronto for its North American premiere. The Netflix drama centers on two married couples whose paths cross during a documentary shoot.
Jeon Do-yeon, who won best actress at Cannes for Lee’s “Secret Sunshine” (2007), leads the cast with Sul Kyung-gu, Zo In-sung and Cho Yeo-jeong.
“Paradise Lost” will have its world premiere in Toronto ahead of an October release in Korean theaters.
The psychological thriller stars Kim Hyun-joo as a mother whose son disappeared nine years earlier on a school camping trip, only to return, now grown, very much alive. Bae Hyun-sung co-stars.
The invitation marks the second consecutive year in the section for the “Train to Busan” (2016) director, whose bare-bones thriller “The Ugly” (2025) screened there last fall and became a surprise hit at home.
“The Assassin(s),” from veteran filmmaker Hur Jin-ho (“Christmas in August,” “One Fine Spring Day”), dramatizes the 1974 shooting that killed South Korea’s first lady. Yoo Hae-jin, Park Hae-il and Lee Min-ho star.
Korean cinema is coming off a banner year in Toronto, where Park Chan-wook’s “No Other Choice” won last year’s newly created international people’s choice award, decided by audience vote.
This year’s festival runs Sept. 10-20, opening with Sian Heder’s “Being Heumann” and closing with “Villeneuve: The Rise of a Legend,” a drama about Canadian racing great Gilles Villeneuve.
