Mile End Kicks
2025 film by Chandler Levack
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Mile End Kicks is a 2025 Canadian romantic comedy film written and directed by Chandler Levack.[2] Based in part on Levack's own young adulthood prior to becoming a professional music critic and filmmaker, the film stars Barbie Ferreira as Grace Pine, a young woman who moves to Montreal, Quebec, in 2011 with the goal of writing a book about Alanis Morissette's album Jagged Little Pill but instead becomes romantically involved with Archi (Devon Bostick) and Chevy (Stanley Simons), two members of the aspiring indie rock band Bone Patrol, and takes a job as the band's publicist.[3] The cast also includes Jay Baruchel, Juliette Gariépy, Robert Naylor, Emily Lê, Hasani Freeman, Magi Merlin, and Isaiah Lehtinen.
- Matthew Miller
- Pat Kiely
- Julie Groleau
- Barbie Ferreira
- Devon Bostick
- Stanley Simons
- Juliette Gariépy
- Jay Baruchel
| Mile End Kicks | |
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Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Chandler Levack |
| Written by | Chandler Levack |
| Produced by |
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| Starring |
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| Cinematography | Jeremy Cox |
| Edited by | Simone Smith |
Production companies |
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Release dates |
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Running time | 112 minutes[1] |
| Country | Canada |
| Language | English |
The film had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 4, 2025. It is set to be released theatrically in Canada on April 17, 2026, by Entract Films and Elevation Pictures
Production
The film's original screenplay outline, submitted under the working title Anglophone, was announced in 2016 as the winner of a competition for emerging women screenwriters staged by Zapruder Films, the production company of Matthew Miller.[4] The prize was $12,000 and the services of a professional story editor to help develop and complete the full screenplay.
Most of the cast was announced in August 2024,[3] with Baruchel's casting announced toward the end of production.[5]
The film was shot in August and September 2024 in Montreal.[6]
The Montreal indie rock band Tops wrote two original songs for the soundtrack.[5]
Release
Mile End Kicks had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 4, 2025.[7][8] The film was also screened in the Borsos Competition program of the 2025 Whistler Film Festival.[9] It was screened at the Kingston Canadian Film Festival on February 28 and March 1, 2026.[10] The film is set to be released theatrically on April 17, 2026, in Canada by Elevation Pictures (with Entract Films releasing in Quebec) and in the United States by Sumerian Pictures.[11][12][13]
Reception
Critical response
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 94% of 17 critics' reviews are positive.[14] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 73 out of 100, based on 6 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[15]
Shelagh Rowan-Legg of Screen Anarchy wrote that "with a vibrant palette, a terrific soundtrack, Mile End Kicks might lose a little bit of steam as it stretches out the ending, but it's a worthy entry to contemporary romcoms, one that acknowledges sex, queerness, money troubles, sexism, how any of us can get caught in the trap of not knowing our own worth, and learning to embrace our love, our anger, and our talent".[16]
Alex Hudson of Exclaim! wrote that "if there was ever a film that's a perfect bullseye for Exclaim! Magazine, it's surely Mile End Kicks, which is about trying to make it as a music critic in the halcyon days of Montreal's indie rock boom. It's got original music from TOPS, live footage of Islands, a background character named Claire who I'm pretty sure is supposed to be Grimes snorting drugs off a toilet, and even shots of an inbox full of emails from publicist Brendan Bourke."[17]
The film was named to the Toronto International Film Festival's annual year-end Canada's Top Ten list for 2025.[18]
Accolades
| Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipient | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whistler Film Festival | 2025 | Best Screenplay in a Borsos Competition Film | Chandler Levack | Won | |
| Vancouver Film Critics Circle | 2025 | Best Canadian Film | Mile End Kicks | Nominated | |
| Best Director of a Canadian Film | Chandler Levack | Nominated | |||
| Best Actress in a Canadian Film | Barbie Ferreira | Nominated | |||
| Best Supporting Actor in a Canadian Film | Devon Bostick | Won | |||
| Stanley Simons | Nominated | ||||
| Best Supporting Actress in a Canadian Film | Juliette Gariépy | Nominated | |||
| Best Screenplay for a Canadian Film | Chandler Levack | Nominated |
