[Dispatch=Reporter Jung Tae-yun] Netflix film "Potential Love" directed by Lee Chang-dong will represent Korean cinema in competition for the U.S. Academy Awards (Oscars).

The Korean Film Council announced on the 25th that it has selected "Potential Love" as Korea's official submission to the International Feature Film category of the 99th U.S. Academy Awards.

The Korean Film Council selects one Korean film each year to submit to the International Feature Film category of the Academy Awards upon request from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS).

A total of 15 judges participated in this selection, led by film critic Jung Sung-il as chair.

The jury panel highly evaluated "Potential Love" for its completeness, the director's clear message, and the excellence of its mise-en-scène.

At the same time, it is known that they paid attention to Lee Chang-dong's characteristic deep humanism and delicate direction, depicting multidimensional characters and the complexity of relationships with density.

"Potential Love" tells the story of two couples—a laid-off worker and his wife, and a documentary director and his husband—who meet to produce a documentary and face different lives and hidden desires.

It is director Lee Chang-dong's work presented eight years after "Burning" (2018). Actors Jeon Do-yeon, Seol Kyung-gu, Jo In-sung, and Jo Yeo-jeong appear in the film.

The film also advanced to the competition section of the 83rd Venice International Film Festival. It has been officially invited to the Special Presentation section of the 51st Toronto International Film Festival.

"Potential Love" opens in theaters on the 23rd of next month. It will be released on Netflix on November 6. The confirmation of Academy preliminary nominee selection will be finalized at the end of this year.

<Photo source=Dispatch DB, Netflix>