Culture / Reel Asian 2025 Brings ‘K-Pop Demon Hunters’ Sing-Along To Toronto

Reel Asian 2025 Brings ‘K-Pop Demon Hunters’ Sing-Along To Toronto

Culture Nov 04, 2025

by Team ANOKHI LIFE

Toronto’s most anticipated celebration of Asian storytelling is back — and bigger than ever. The 29th Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival (Reel Asian) returns November 5–15, 2025, with an online program streaming nationwide from November 10–23, uniting audiences through the power of contemporary Asian cinema.

With the festival set to kick off tomorrow, Reel Asian is generating major buzz for a program that merges artistry, activism, and community — reaffirming its place as Canada’s largest pan-Asian film festival and a cornerstone for Asian diaspora voices.

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A Cinematic Launch Into Imagination

This year’s festival opens with Space Cadet, a long-awaited animated feature written, directed, and scored by Canada’s own Kid Koala. Adapted from his acclaimed graphic novel, this visually poetic film tells the story of Celeste, an astronaut-in-training, and Robot, the mechanical guardian who raised her while her mother explored deep space. As Celeste embarks on her first mission and Robot faces life without her, the two navigate love, loss, and purpose — all told without dialogue, using only sound and music to evoke emotion.

An independent passion project 14 years in the making, Space Cadet is both a cinematic and musical experience that celebrates human connection beyond words — and sets the tone for a festival grounded in creative fearlessness.

Reel Asian 2025 Brings ‘K-Pop Demon Hunters’ Sing-Along To Toronto | Space Cadet Still | Image Credit: Reel Asian

Global Stories, Local Perspectives

With 17 features and 45 shorts spanning 18 countries, Reel Asian 2025 delivers a sweeping panorama of contemporary Asian cinema — exploring themes of identity, migration, and belonging.

Homegrown highlights include:

Finch & Midland by Timothy Yeung, set in Scarborough’s immigrant enclaves;
Montréal, ma belle by Xiaodan He, starring Joan Chen as a woman reclaiming herself through love and liberation; and
There Are No Words by Min Sook Lee, a raw meditation on grief, memory, and intergenerational healing.

South Asian Spotlight

As a platform that has long amplified South Asian talent, Reel Asian 2025 features an impressive slate of films from the region and its diaspora — each exploring resilience, identity, and creative defiance.

Village Rockstars 2 (India, dir. Rima Das) — The lyrical sequel to her 2017 hit, following Dhunu, a teenage musician navigating life and climate change in rural Assam.
Narmada: A Valley Rises (India/Canada, dir. Ali Kazimi) — A remount of the 1994 classic chronicling India’s largest grassroots resistance movement, presented under the Fire Horse Spotlight.
Humans in the Loop (India, dir. Aranya Sahay) — A searing narrative examining gendered labour and AI bias through the eyes of a tribal woman in Jharkhand.
Make It Look Real (Pakistan, dir. Danial Shah) — A poetic portrait of a Quetta photo-studio owner whose staged fantasies reveal deeper truths about desire and identity.

Short films like What’s Mine Is Yours (Haaris Qadri), Ruse (Rhea Shukla), Automagic (Ashok Vish), Rajas & the Wolf Girl (Nidhi Reddy), and Same Time Next Year? (Anushay Sheikh) further spotlight a new generation of South Asian voices — each reimagining cultural narratives with nuance, boldness, and heart.

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Reel Asian 2025 Brings ‘K-Pop Demon Hunters’ Sing-Along To Toronto | Village Rockstars 2 | Image Credit: Reel Asian

Where Creativity & Community Converge

This year’s Centrepiece Gala celebrates Vancouver-based filmmaker Mayumi Yoshida with the Toronto premiere of her romantic debut feature Akashi, while audiences can expect a high-energy sing-along screening of Netflix’s hit K-Pop Demon Hunters, followed by a meet-and-greet with creators Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans — a must for fans of the K-wave phenomenon.

Reel Asian also partners with the Inside Out Film Festival, marking its 35th anniversary, for Let’s Do The Time Warp Again! — an animated shorts program reimagining queer storytelling through bold, experimental lenses.

The Shorts lineup features thematic showcases including Charged Up, Family Style, Otherworlds, and Unquenchable, alongside Unsung Voices 14, which spotlights six emerging Canadian filmmakers mentored through Reel Asian’s signature summer workshop.

Families and young audiences can enjoy Wee Asian, a free community program blending storytelling, arts, and intergenerational play.

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Reel Asian 2025 Brings ‘K-Pop Demon Hunters’ Sing-Along To Toronto | Bugsick | Image Credit: Reel Asian

Beyond The Screen: Insight & Innovation

Reel Asian’s RA:X Symposium and Reel Ideas programming extend the festival’s reach into creative development and technology. Highlights include:

A masterclass on workplace comedy 18 to 35 with creator Rahul Chaturvedi (Bollywed, Late Bloomer).
A conversation with Kid Koala and Lillian Chan on the creative process behind Space Cadet.
A talk with filmmaker Ian Tuason and OCAD President Ana Serrano on how The Undertone landed a major distribution deal with A24.

The official festival animation Muse, created by Toronto artist Janet Mac, is now on display at Sankofa Square through November 23, accompanied by an artist talk exploring the interplay between visual art and film.

Reel Asian 2025 Brings ‘K-Pop Demon Hunters’ Sing-Along To Toronto | 18 to 35 With creator Rahul Chaturvedi | Image Credit: reelasian.com

Celebrating 29 Years of Asian Storytelling

“As we approach our 30th anniversary, Reel Asian continues to be more than just a film festival,” said Deanna Wong, Executive Director of Reel Asian. “It’s a space for community, dialogue, and discovery — where audiences can connect through screenings, workshops, and conversations that celebrate Asian storytelling in all its forms.”

From silent space odysseys to heartfelt family dramas, Reel Asian 2025 is a testament to how Asian filmmakers continue to push the boundaries of cinematic expression — reflecting not only where we come from, but where our stories can go next.

Festival Details:
️November 5–15, 2025 (in-person)
November 10–23, 2025 (online across Canada)
️ Tickets available at reelasian.com

Buy Tickets Here

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Reel Asian 2025 Brings ‘K-Pop Demon Hunters’ Sing-Along To Toronto

by Team ANOKHI LIFE

A Cinematic Launch Into Imagination

Global Stories, Local Perspectives

South Asian Spotlight

Where Creativity & Community Converge

Beyond The Screen: Insight & Innovation

Celebrating 29 Years of Asian Storytelling

Festival Details:️November 5–15, 2025 (in-person)November 10–23, 2025 (online across Canada)️ Tickets available at reelasian.com

COMMENTS

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Festival Details:
️November 5–15, 2025 (in-person)
November 10–23, 2025 (online across Canada)
️ Tickets available at reelasian.com