Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans, the administrators behind Netflix animated phenomenon “KPop Demon Hunters,” in addition to the movie‘s primary songwriter EJAE, accepted the Spark Award at IndieWire Honors 2025 ceremony on Thursday December 4, at Nya West in Hollywood. Of their speeches, the three mentioned their journeys to make the movie, and thanked the many individuals liable for bringing Huntr/x to life.
Kang spoke first, discussing how the movie served as a private journey for her and her makes an attempt to characterize her Korean identification on the massive display screen. She thanked the followers for supporting the film and serving to to show it into a significant phenomenon.
“Thanks IndieWire for this unbelievable honor,” Kang stated in her speech. “This film has been such a private journey for me. So this implies greater than you already know. This film exists as a result of I merely simply wished to see my tradition, my Korean tradition, represented on the massive display screen. And after I got here up with an idea and pitched it to a producer pal over seven years in the past, I had no concept that this could be the reception. I actually had no concept that this film about three foolish Korean girls and Kpop can be watched by so many individuals all world wide. So I might like to thank the followers for supporting this film, for locating it, loving it, and actually spreading the phrase, as a result of with out them, you already know, I don’t suppose folks would have discovered it.”
EJAE spoke subsequent, thanking the administrators for trusting her throughout the course of and permitting her to supply her singing voice for primary character Rumi. EJAE additionally took the time to thank lots of her collaborators who contributed to the extremely profitable soundtrack of the movie, which has since been nominated for a number of Grammys.
I’d actually wish to thank the administrators, thanks guys for this wonderful alternative. Thanks for trusting in me to sing the track and likewise writing. I actually am so simply happy with you guys with me. You’re employed actually, actually arduous. I must thank Netflix and Sony in addition to Ian Eisendrath, our music director and music govt producer, he actually helped information us. And in addition co-writer Mark Sonnenblick and the group making these wonderful tracks,” EJAE stated. “Lots of people do that job you guys, it’s an enormous music group. It was actually a collaborative work. And as a Korean American lady, I’m tremendous happy with [Maggie].”
Appelhans completed the speech by saying that the movie took years to make, and got here from a need to create one thing new. He thanked the large group liable for bringing their imaginative and prescient to life, jokingly calling them “flesh artists” who put six years of labor into the top product.
“As you guys can inform, this film took lots of people and a variety of dedication. It’s actually superior to get this award,” Appelhans stated in his speech. “We wished to make one thing new and peculiar and superior. We’ve been doing this for a very long time, many years of writing and storyboarding and songwriting, manufacturing designing and animating, and the film appeared to require from us all the things we’ve ever discovered in our lives, together with a group of 4 or 500 human artists, who gave all the things for 5, six years to make it. So we’re simply actually grateful. It means lots. It is a cool group, and we’re actually, actually honored.”
Since its launch in June, “KPop Demon Hunters” has acquired essential acclaim and has change into the preferred movie in Netflix’s historical past. Just lately, it received Finest Animated Characteristic on the New York Movie Critics Circle.
