by Daria Maystruk
With the help of a brilliant cast, writer and director Chandler Levack has created the perfect witty and nostalgic coming-of-age movie to open the International Film Festival of Ottawa (IFFO) on March 8. Filmed around parts of the Greater Toronto Area and first released in September 2022 by Mongrel Media, I Like Movies pays homage to early 2000s Canadian cinephile culture.
The film features 17-year-old socially awkward Lawrence Kweller, who, you guessed it, really likes movies. Kweller, played by Isaiah Lehtinen, must navigate his senior year of high school in Burlington, Ont., and all the messy relationships it entails while chasing down his (arguably unattainable) dream to go to New York University for film school.
Lawrence at the computer in I Like Movies. Photo: Mongrel Media.
After getting a job at his local movie rental store, he develops an unexpected bond with his older manager, who hates the movie industry. Meanwhile, his ambition to become a great filmmaker and a past trauma in his family creates tension between him and those closest to him.
I Like Movies is Levack’s first feature film and was inspired by her experience as a teen, she says.
“I started thinking about my last year of high school when I was working at Blockbuster, and I felt like I’d never seen a community movie that was set in a corporate video store before,” Levack says. “There’s this fine irony about somebody who thinks of themselves as this great cinephile, but they’re essentially working at a Blockbuster.”
Lehtinen says the energy on set during the filming process was palpable, and he related to Kweller’s movie-obsessed character from the first audition.
“Coming of age and having to come to terms with the prickly aspects of my own personality and the reason I’m the way I am, in certain regards, especially in relation to the media I consume… that is always a near and dear thing that was really close to my heart,” he says. “I just felt like I saw myself for the first time in a piece of media.”
Isaiah Lehtinen and Chandler Levack on set. Photo: Mongrel Media.
He says he hopes others can relate to the character as well.
“I did it for the Lawrences of the world, so I hope they just feel seen,” Lehtinen says. “I approached [the movie] with empathy and justice to the bitter, dated loser.”
Although Levack says it is essential for audiences to come away with their own thoughts about the film, she hopes the film makes people “cringe about their high school self but also maybe approach that version of themselves with a little bit more kindness and empathy.”
“The more you are honest and truthful about your own experiences, the more that people can relate to it,” Levack says. “It’s very gratifying and I hope that I’ll continue to be supported by the Canadian film industry and keep making weird movies about narcissistic pop culture-obsessed weirdos.”
I Like Movies will be screened at this year’s International Film Festival of Ottawa on March 8 at 7pm at the Ottawa Art Gallery. Tickets can be bought on the IFFO website for $15. The venue is fully accessible.
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