The Banquet is a Canadian comedy-drama film, directed by Gloria Ui Young Kim and slated for release in 2026.Jamie Casemore, "AIFF adds five world premieres to final lineup". Playback, August 13, 2026. The film stars Vicki Kim as Sunny, a burned-out advertising executive who is challenged by her mother Young-ja (Park Hye-jin) to take over the family's annual Chuseok dinner, despite barely knowing how to cook any of her mother's traditional recipes, shortly after discovering that her business and personal partner Dean (Austin Ball) is cheating on her.
The cast also includes Erniel Baez, Joy Lho, Yoseph Chang, Georgette Lee, Pamela Estrada, Soo-Ram Kim, Mark Lutz, Konstantina Mantelos and Nicole Stamp in supporting roles.
Production The film was in development as early as 2008,Armin KS, "Breaking down the Mind of the Story and Storyteller: Gloria Kim". Reelway, August 4, 2026. with her initial screenplay treatment selected as a finalist in Telefilm Canada's Pitch This! competition at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival."Fake news comedy wins $10K Pitch This! prize". CBC Arts, September 15, 2009.
Despite this, Kim concentrated on her work in television directing over the next number of years, and made her feature directorial debut with Queen of the Morning Calm in 2019, before proceeding with The Banquet after it received a production grant from Telefilm in 2023."Téléfilm Canada finance la production de 32 longs métrages sur le marché anglais et sur le marché français". CTVM, June 5, 2023.
Release The film is slated to premiere on September 19, 2026, at the 2026 Atlantic International Film Festival, followed by a screening at the 2026 Cinéfest Sudbury International Film Festival on September 25."Cinefest Sudbury unveils complete 2026 film lineup". Sudbury Star, August 26, 2026.
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