Mile End Kicks
Chandler Levack
In 2011, young music critic Grace Pine moves from English-speaking Toronto to Montreal – without speaking a word of French. She wants to have a fresh new start there and write a book about Alanis Morissette and her studio album Jagged Little Pill. Through her landlady, she meets the indie rock band Bone Patrol (talk about a pun), becomes not only their manager but also finds herself drawn to two of the band members: the arrogant singer and the stoic guitarist.
In her second feature film following I Like Movies (which screened at Lichter in 2023), director Chandler Levack delivers an impressive reimagining of gender roles through the character of Grace (played by Barbie Ferreira, known for her role in Euphoria). Music nerds, as seen in Almost Famous, are usually male. Levack herself worked as a journalist and lived in Montreal for a while; the city was a hotspot for indie-pop in the 2010s. Levack portrays Grace’s time in the Mile End neighborhood as a whirlwind rom-com and a journey of self-discovery, complete with the occasional mishap.
2 May 2026
18:15 h, Eldorado Filmtheater
More information
| Direction | Chandler Levack |
| Country | Canada |
| Production year | 2025 |
| Duration | 111 min |
| Language | English, French |
| Language Version | OV with German Subs |
| Genre | Drama, Comedy |
| Production | Matthew Miller, Pat Kiely, Julie Groleau |
| Production company | Banner House Productions, CBC Films, Crave Films |
| Distribution | XYZ Films |
| Cast | Barbie Ferreira, Devon Bostick, Stanley Simons, Juliette Gariépy, Jay Baruchel |
| Director of Photography | Jeremy Cox |
| Script | Chandler Levack |
| Montage | Simone Smith |
| Sound | Pablo Villegas, Michelle Irving, Jeremy Fong |
| Music | Cecile Believe |
TORONTO FILM FESTIVAL 2025, SXSW 2025
| Presented by: | Maple Movies |
About the director
The Canadian writer and filmmaker Chandler Levack lives in Toronto. She began studying film at the city’s university but decided instead to pursue a career as a journalist and critic specialising in art, music and film. In the 2010s, she directed music videos, including for the Canadian punk band PUP. The short film We Forgot to Break Up (2017) was her first work in cinema, and in her first feature film, I Like Movies (2023), she drew on her own experiences as a teenager working in a video rental shop. In 2024, her mini-comedy series My Dead Mom was released on the Canadian streaming platform Crave. Her latest film, Roommates, will be available on Netflix from April 2026.
Press reviews
"The film’s credibility is largely due to the fact that the real-life band Tops plays the group at the centre of Grace’s fascination. The authenticity of their performances makes Grace’s transformation from critic to budding manager entirely plausible. The film’s greatest strength, however, lies in Ferreira’s performance. Her portrayal, which is both determined and vulnerable, captures the ambition, insecurity and raw energy of youth without descending into parody." (Jason Gorber for Next Best Picture)
‘By turns quirky and touching – Levack crafts a story and a character you can immediately relate to. With Ferreira in the lead role, the film feels like a thoughtful yet chaotic tale of the growing pains of young adulthood.’ (Mae Abdulbaki for Screen Rant)
International Feature Film Program
