THE BANQUET
잔치

Canada2026105 minEnglish, Korean with English Subtitles Toronto Premiere

Sunny Park’s world is … complicated. A single mom and successful ad executive, she discovers her life partner — who is also her boss — is cheating on her, and leaves both him and her job. With more time on her hands, Sunny is challenged by her hyper-critical mother to take over the cooking for her family’s upcoming Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving) celebration — and the family restaurant. Meanwhile, the chef next door is starting to show interest and her boss wants her back, much to the chagrin of daughter Trinity (Joy Lho, in her feature debut). Faced with the choice between a life of stability or new challenges, what will she do?

Gloria Ui Young Kim follows up her debut feature with another strong-female-centred film in The Banquet. Longtime Reel Asian alum Kim has produced a charming, culturally specific take on the traditional rom-com. The cast is anchored by an assured Vicki Kim, who shows great comedic timing in her first starring role, and the scene-stealing Park Hye-jin (Netflix's Squid Game) as her mother, with strong support from Erniel Baez and Nicole Stamp.

– Deanna Wong