Montréal Girls
A Middle-Eastern medical school student, new to Montreal, puts his relationship with his father at risk when he forfeits his education after being forever changed by two young women who help him see his destiny.
Montréal Girls follows a young man’s journey and his quest for love and enlightenment while discovering his true calling along the way.
Interview with Writer/Director/Producer Patricia Chica
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
I created this film with the intention of empowering and inspiring diverse audiences around the globe, urging them to conquer their fears and embrace their authentic purpose by broadening their minds and opening their hearts.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
Montréal Girls is a film that is uplifting and inspirational. Who doesn't want to watch a feel-good movie? The theme of Montréal Girls is to follow your heart; to make the choices that better serve your higher purpose and to not pursue a person or a thing that doesn’t align with who you are. It’s a coming-of-age story about self-realization in its purest way. I believe people from all walks of life would appreciate it.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
Montréal Girls is a very personal story to me. It brings to light many aspects of my own coming-of-age story, growing up in a conservative family, while at the same time evolving within the underground scene in Montreal, a very exhilarating, and almost forbidden culture compared to my own.
This story is important to be told, especially in a landscape where cinema deserves even more diverse representation. This film gives the underserved audience member an opportunity to observe life from the point of view of an individual that resembles them, and at the same time, someone who is making their own choices in life, despite what society, culture, religion or family may prevent them from choosing.
I’m the best person to tell this very personal yet so universal story, not only because it borrows situations from my own personal life but also because my perspective as the child of immigrants yet a local insider of Montréal’s subcultures; allows me to authentically portray the characters in the film.
That’s why it was important for me to have the film in three languages-- English, Arabic and French – reflecting the rich diversity found within my own culture.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
During the development phase, I had to streamline the script due to budget limitations and strict COVID restrictions, resulting in the final draft being 30 pages shorter than the original. As a consequence, the back story of Ramy, which was initially set in Egypt, had to be completely removed. To make the production feasible, I had to creatively combine locations, eliminate characters, and reduce the number of extras. Despite these changes, the final film successfully maintains the emotional journey of the protagonist, which was my top priority to protect throughout the development process.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
Montréal Girls has received phenomenal feedback both from film critics and audience members alike. The Los Angeles Times wrote a great review which said “Montréal Girls emerges as a vivid, immersive paean to artistic expression and youth’s unhindered possibilities."
We have a 100% rating score on Rotten Tomatoes (June 2023) and the Best Feature award win at the Los Angeles International Film Festival.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
I have been pleasantly surprised by the positive feedback, which has not only exceeded my expectations but also introduced me to an unexpected target audience: senior men and women from conservative cultures, including Middle Eastern, South East Asian, and Latin American backgrounds. It has been truly remarkable to witness how deeply they connected with the character of Ramy and the portrayal of Arab-speaking characters in the film.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
I would like to trigger distribution and awareness of Montréal Girls in territories outside of North America and also let the We Are Moving Stories community know that Montréal Girls is now available on VOD across all the platforms. you can stream it now by visiting this link: https://geni.us/MONTREALGIRLS.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
Distributors, festival programmers, journalists and audience members.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
If someone who watches the film is inspired to make a different choice or a different decision in their life, because of Montréal Girls, then I would be happy.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
Montréal Girls is the first feature film ever created with the Chi Energy method. The actors and every department's head were trained by me to use Chi Energy on set.
Chi Energy is a very unique creative process, that I have developed, which connects one’s energy centers with their intuition, mindset, language and body expression in order to expand their creative potential, as a performer or storyteller and to reach their desired outcome faster.
Chi Energy allows us to change our reality through intentional behavior since how you are from within affects the people and environment around you. When creatives work on a project together, it is crucial to be aware of the energy we carry and how it can impact the entire group.
As a Chi Energy educator, it was my responsibility to bring that mindset to the entire team and to provide them with the necessary tools that would help them achieve their sole intentions, as well as the collective’s purpose.
My highest intention is for any creative person to learn these tactics, which derive from ancient knowledge and that serve modern applications to support our contemporary lives. It’s a new way of creating that will make our industry a much more conscious and evolved space.
Would you like to add anything else?
Thank you for your time. Watch Montréal Girls on all the platforms and/or follow us on IG, FB, @MontrealGirlsMovie. Our site is www.MontrealGirlsMovie.com
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
Bougainvillea, coming of age LGBTQ+ feature, with a hint of magical realism.
Interview: July 2023
We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, horror, world cinema. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
Montréal Girls
A Middle-Eastern medical school student, new to Montreal, puts his relationship with his father at risk when he forfeits his education after being forever changed by two young women who help him see his destiny.
Montréal Girls follows a young man’s journey and his quest for love and enlightenment while discovering his true calling along the way.
Length: 2:34:00
Director: Patricia Chica
Producer: Bahija Essoussi, Samuel Gagnon (Objectif 9)
Writer: Patricia Chica, Kamal John Iskander
About the writer, director and producer:
PATRICIA CHICA is an award-winning Canadian filmmaker with over 60 hours of content to her name. Specializing in character-driven films that feature strong emotions and elevated stories, Chica's work has been in Official Selection at over 300 international film festivals and numerous TV networks, earning her 60+ awards. Her captivating blend of dreamy surrealism and introspective self-reflection creates a distinctive visual narrative that is fueled by higher consciousness. Chica's debut feature film, Montréal Girls, funded by Telefilm Canada and Sodec, was released theatrically in 2023, while she preps for her other features, including Spiral (Thriller) and Bougainvillea (LGBTQ+). Patricia Chica divides her time between Montréal and Los Angeles.
Montréal Girls was born from the collaboration between KAMAL JOHN ISKANDER and PATRICIA CHICA, friends, filmmakers, and collaborators. They had previously worked together on a horror comedy short that Iskander wrote and Chica directed/produced called A Tricky Treat. The film had enormous success on the festival circuit, having had its World Premiere at Fantasia in a packed theatre, and winning countless awards. The characters that populate their debut feature Montréal Girls are inspired by their own personal experiences, both being children of immigrant families. For example, Montréal’s nightlife and the female leading characters, Désirée and Yaz, are inspired by Chica's own journey navigating her hometown’s subcultures scene as a documentarian, photographer, and insider. The lead character of Ramy is based on Iskander's own Middle Eastern cultural background and upbringing. The film is in three languages: English, Arabic, and French because it was important that all the characters expressed themselves in their own authentic language, just like they would in real life.
Founded in 2014 by BAHJIA ESSOUSSI and SAMUEL GAGNON, Objectif 9 is a Montreal-based production company producing short and feature films. With a penchant for international co-production and diversity, the producers constantly develop projects with international co-production potential, and in collaboration with emerging and diverse creators.
Key cast: Hakim Brahimi (RAMY), Jasmina Parent (DÉSIRÉE), Sana Asad (YAZ), Manuel Tadros (HANI), Nahéma Ricci (SOPHIA), Chadi Alhelou (FAHIM), Thomas Vallières (ETIENNE), Guillaume Rodrigue (PHÉNIX), Simon Therrien (ALPHONSE), Marina Harvey (MARIE-CLAUDE), Natalie Tannous (ALYA), Martin Dubreuil (WIISE MAN), Bloodshot Bill (HIMSELF).
Looking for: distributors, journalists, film festival directors, buyers
Facebook: Patricia Chica (Chicatronica)
Twitter: @PatriciaChica
Instagram: @chicatronica
Hashtags used: #MontrealGirlsMovie #PatriciaChica
Website: www.patriciachica.com, www.montrealgirlsmovie.com
Made in association with: Filmoption International
Funders: Telefilm Canada, SODEC, The Harold Greenberg Fund, National and Provincial Tax Credits, Filmoption International & Flirt Films.
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month?
Female Eye Film Festival in Toronto, Canada
Review Cinema in Toronto, Canada
LatinArte Festival in Montreal, Canada
VOD: https://geni.us/MONTREALGIRLS
CALENDAR: www.MontrealGirlsMovie.com