Joan Chen’s extraordinary performance is the luminescent core of director Xiaodan He’s second feature. Chen mesmerizes as Feng Xia, a Chinese Canadian woman who takes a chance to escape the confines of others’ expectations when she meets Camille (Charlotte Aubin), a French Canadian woman who awakens long-dormant feelings. But Feng’s not the only character undergoing a dramatic change in MONTRÉAL, MA BELLE; the film is remarkable for the grace and sensitivity with which it explores all of its characters’ lives. The winner of top honours at the Windsor International Film Festival – as well as a special prize for Chen at Toronto’s Reel Asian festival — He’s film also lives up to its title with its entrancing views of the city, a place that viewers may be inspired to see with new eyes, just like Feng Xia.

Director: Xiaodan He

Cast: Joan Chen, Charlotte Aubin, Jon Xu

Language: French, Mandarin with English subtitles

Runtime: 96 minutes

Content warning: domestic/sexual violence, gender violence, nudity, explicit sexual content

Xiaodan He, director

Xiaodan He, a Chinese-Canadian filmmaker based in Montreal, has studied film production at the Beijing Film Academy in China from 1993 to 1997. Being a Chinese ethnic minority, Naxi, she then worked for the Yunnan Minority Film Studio as an assistant producer and director. In 2002, Xiaodan immigrated to Montreal, Canada. In 2005, her short film on the life of the immigrants, Cairo Calling, has received a resounding success, with screenings in over 50 festivals around the world and 2 audience awards. In 2009, her documentary, The Fall of Womenland, about the walking marriage custom of the Mosuo people in Yunnan, China, was presented in All Road Film Festival of National Geographic, Montreal International Film Festival, Barcelona International Women Film Festival, etc. In 2013, Xiaodan founded Red Dawn Productions Inc. in Montreal. With her first feature fiction in 2018, A Touch of Spring, Xiaodan became the first Chinese immigrant filmmaker in Canada who received the Canadian film grants for a feature fiction. Her documentary in 2020, My Father’s Journey, is about the Naxi ancient Dong Ba culture in China.