Lee Chang-dong: A Touch of the Poet

Lee Chang-dong has not amassed the same name recognition among U.S. moviegoers as South Korean countrymen Bong Joon-ho (Parasite) or Park Chan-wook (Oldboy), but he has hardly toiled in obscurity. A prize-winning filmmaker and novelist and a former Minister of Culture and Tourism in Korea’s government, Lee has cultivated a tender, soulful, elliptical style all his own—while still confronting the class-based tensions and simmering potential for violence that erupt more extravagantly in Bong’s and Park’s movies. Hooked to his latest film Possible Love, a hit at last month’s Chicago International Film Festival, this talk will give equal time to Lee’s aesthetic craft, rapport with actors, and sharp-edged social critiques.

Recommended Viewing: Secret Sunshine (2007), Poetry (2010), and/or Possible Love (2026, in theaters now  and coming to Netflix on Nov 6)