The Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival offers a unique cinematic experience for the city’s film lovers.

Here is one of the can’t-miss films at the 2013 Reel Asian Film Festival.

Don’t Stop Believing: Everyman’s Journey

This is the remarkable true story about Arnel Pineda, a homeless boy who grew up in the Philippines dreaming of singing and having a house that was his own home, not a park bench. His life changed forever when he was discovered by members of the band Journey on Youtube.

Many people know about the popular band Journey. One of the longest running and popular bands in history, their music is the soundtrack for everything from action movies to rom-coms. A few years ago, they hit a roadblock when previous lead singers, Steve Perry and later Steve Augeri, were both sidelined by health issues. Ordinarily this would be the death knell for a band, but instead, the band scoured the internet to find someone with the voice to bring their music to life. They found Arnel Pineda on Youtube, doing a series of cover songs in the Philippines.

Ramona Diaz’s biography of this very interesting guy Arnel Pineda, is definitely worth a watch at this year’s Reel Asian Film Fest. Pineda grew up homeless, often rationing no more than a packet of biscuits over two days, sleeping rough, and made a little money by selling recyclable items. The documentary does not shy away from this, paying a lot of attention to his early history via interviews and video footage of his early attempts at making music. It’s almost surreal to watch him point out the park he used to sleep in and talk about how he dreamed of having a house, while walking around with Neal Schon and Jonathon Cain. The doc also examines some of the prejudices he encountered, from racial slurs to one woman stating that “He [the lead singer] should be from [America].” And of course, the culture shock of moving from a third world country to singing before 25 million people is addressed, with some tender and occasionally heartbreaking scenes of Pineda and his wife, Cherry.

A kickass soundtrack, difficult subject matter, and a love of music makes this a must-see.

@reelasian, @arnelpineda, @JourneyOfficial, @TheJonathanCain, @JourneyMOVIE, @NealSchonMusic

Donal O’Connor

Also at The Reel Asian Film Festival Tales from the Dark.