#TIFF25: “MILE END KICKS” REVIEW

By Amanda Gilmore

Writer-Director Chandler Levack’s hotly-anticipated second feature takes place in 2011 and follows young female music critic Grace (Barbie Ferreira), who moves to Montreal to figure out life and love. 

After leaving her job at a magazine in Toronto, Grace moves into a shared apartment in Montreal that she found on Craigslist. It’s there that she should devote herself to finishing the next great book in the 33 1/3 album exploration series that she’s already been paid an advance on. Hers will be on the iconic Alanis Morissette opus Jagged Little Pill. However, like many in their early 20s…life gets in the way.

Just like with Lawrence in I Like Movies, Grace makes a lot of bad choices. Levack has a knack for writing endearing leads that make audiences cringe at their poor decisions or indecisions. Here, Grace is a young woman whose focus is on everything and everyone but herself. This leads to Grace blowing her own life up.

This focus on others rather than herself comes from society, but also the career Grace has. There aren’t many films that depict a female critic. Here, Levack shows just how isolating it can be for a young woman. Grace is always on the outside of a circle of men. When she arrives in Montreal, she quickly becomes friends with the band Bone Patrol. Again, she’s the only woman around this band of boys. Ferreira encapsulates the indecision and enclosed rage within a young woman who is simultaneously trying to break the ceiling but at times allowing it to suffocate her.

Even with all of this heavy material, Mile End Kicks is a hilarious romantic-comedy. The semi-love triangle that happens brings nostalgia for the rom-coms we love. Devon Bostick and Stanley Simons are a joy and fully commit to their characters. Bostick as the stoner, sweet guitarist, and Simons as the sleezy, ‘artsy’ lead singer.

At its centre, Mile End Kicks is a story about a young woman learning to respect herself. All of Grace’s poor decisions lead her to respect herself and demand it from others.

Mile End Kicks screens at TIFF:

Thurs. Sept 4 at 8:30 PM at Royal Alexandra Theatre

Tues. Sept 9 at 11:55 AM at Scotiabank Theatre Toronto

Sat. Sept 13 at 9:00 AM at Scotiabank Theatre Toronto

#TIFF25: DAY ONE SIGHTINGS – CHARLI XCX, RENATE REINSVE, STELLAN SKARSGARD, RYAN REYNOLDS, COLIN HANKS, BEN FOSTER, BARBIE FERREIRA, KPOP DEMON HUNTERS, PLUS TIFF WALK OF FAME STAR UNVEILING

It’s only Day One but feels like Day 30? Overall, a very productive day today, covering a lot of ground and lot of stars. Some of the names we spotted:

•Ben foster at TIFF for Motor City.
•Jeffrey Latimer, Olivia Chow and Cameron Bailey unveil TIFF’s Canada Walk of Fame star
•Jeremy O. Harris, Charli XCX, Lena Góra at TIFF for Erupcja
•Ryan Reynolds, Colin Hanks, Chris Candy at TIFF for John Candy: I LIKE ME
•Barbie Ferreira, Devon Bostick, Chandler Levack, Robert Naylor, Juliette Gariépy, Stanley Simons,
Isaiah Lehtinen, at TIFF for Mile End Kicks
•Stellan Skarsgård, Renate Reinsve, Joachim Trier, Elle Fanning, and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas at TIFF for Sentimental Value
•Rei Ami and Audrey Nuna at TIFF for KPop Demon Hunters critics event

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We were up and at it early appearing on CP24 Breakfast! Our appearance, and also TIFF’s Canada’s Walk of Fame induction star unveiling highlights!

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#FIRSTLOOK: “BOB TREVINO LIKES IT” TRAILER AND RELEASE DATES

BOB TREVINO LIKES IT, a dramedy inspired by the true friendship that acclaimed writer-director Tracie Laymon found with a stranger when looking for her father online.

Lily Trevino (Barbie Ferreira) often plays the role of caretaker to people like her father who should be caring for her. She longs for a familial connection, having been abandoned by her mother as a child and then suddenly by her father in her twenties.

Bob Trevino (John Leguizamo) works long hours alone at a construction company to support his wife Jeanie’s scrapbooking habit. The couple has endured a lot in the past decade, and Bob has sought to put his wife first, to the point of ignoring his own feelings and need for friendship, meaning, and connection, That is, until he gets an unexpected Facebook message from a stranger.

Lily and Bob’s blossoming friendship becomes a vital source of connection and healing in both their lives. Bob’s small acts of fatherly kindness fill a familial void in Lily’s life and hold the power to change her direction forever. In their own ways, these two must both learn they are worthy of extraordinary love exemplified through small acts of kindness.

Release schedule:

Exclusive one week run at the TIFF Lightbox March 21, 2025

Canadian Theatrical rollout begins March 28, 2025, in Vancouver, Toronto and more cities to be added.

Opens in Victoria, BC and Guelph, ON on April 4, 2025

RUNTIME: 102 minutes

CAST:
BARBIE FERREIRA, Lily Trevino (Euphoria, House of Spoils, Nope)
JOHN LEGUIZAMO, Bob Trevino (The Power, The Green Veil, To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything)
FRENCH STEWART, Robert (3rd Rock From The Sun, Queen Bees, Inspector Gadget 2)
LAUREN “LOLO” SPENCER, Daphne (The Sex Lives of College Girls, With Love, NCIS: Los Angeles)
RACHEL BAY JONES, Jeanie (Young Sheldon, The Good Doctor, Critical Thinking).

WRITER/DIRECTOR:
Tracie Laymon (IFC’s list of emerging “Icons” and film innovators, Girls! Girls! Girls!)

CINEMATOGRAPHER: John Rosario
EDITOR: Anisha Acharya
PRODUCTION DESIGNER: Sydney Marquez
COMPOSER: Jacques Brautbar

PRODUCERS:
Tracie Laymon, Sean Mullen, Edgar Rosa, Felipe Dieppa

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS:
Carl Effenson, Barbie Ferreira, John Leguizamo, Kirk D’Amico, Mike Sobiloff, Dale Holdren, Rose Stewart

CANADIAN DISTRIBUTOR:
Photon Films

US DISTRIBUTOR:
Roadside Attractions

OTHER SELECTED OFFICIAL SELECTIONS AND AWARDS:
WHISTLER FILM FESTIVAL 2024 ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALIST EDA AWARD
CALGARY INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2024 AUDIENCE AWARD (NEW AMERICA CINEMA FEATURE)
SAN DIEGO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2024 FESTIVAL AWARD
DENVER FILM FESTIVAL 2024 PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD
HAMPTONS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2024 AUDIENCE AWARD
NASHVILLE FILM FESTIVAL 2024 AUDIENCE AWARD
ANCHORAGE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2024 AUDIENCE AWARD, BEST FEATURE, BEST DIRECTOR
TWIN CITIES FILM FEST, US 2024 FILM CRITICS AWARD
VICTORIA FILM FESTIVAL 2025

ABOUT PHOTON FILMS AND MEDIA:
Launched in 2010, Photon Films and Media (photonfilms.ca), formerly Pacific Northwest Pictures, is a leading Canadian entertainment company specializing in the development, financing, production and distribution of feature films for the domestic and international marketplace. With an emphasis on high quality films from leading filmmakers in diverse genres, Photon Films brings those films to consumers with innovative forms of marketing and distribution across all distribution platforms.

Recent theatrical releases include Ernest Cole: Lost and Found (TIFF 2024) from award-winning filmmaker Raoul Peck, La Cocina (Berlin 2024) from director Alonso Ruizpalacios and starring Rooney Mara, Drive Back Home with Alan Cumming and the family film Autumn and the Black Jaguar. Other recent films include The Boy in the Woods starring Jett Klyne and Richard Armitage, Monster from Kore-Eda Hirokazu, The Old Oak from award-winning filmmaker Ken Loach and the 2024 Fantasia International Audience Award Winner Bookworm starring Elijah Wood, Nell Fisher and Michael Smiley.