Lee Chang-dong’s Possible Love marks the acclaimed Korean director’s first film in eight years and explores class division, job insecurity and the ethics of representing suffering on screen. Developed over a decade, the drama follows two couples whose lives intersect after one is devastated by mass redundancies, using a filmmaker character to examine both contemporary resentment and the responsibility of artists.

Sul Kyung-gu plays Ho-seok, a traumatised laid-off worker, opposite Jeon Do-yeon as his optimistic wife Mi-ok; Cho Yeo-jeong and Zo In-sung play a documentary filmmaker and her wealthy husband. Inspired by labour protests and violent state repression in Korea, the film will premiere at Venice, open in US cinemas through Netflix on 23 October and begin streaming on 6 November; it is also South Korea’s Oscar submission for best international feature.