Sumerian Pictures Acquires Barbie Ferreira Rom-Com ‘Mile End Kicks’ From Chandler Levack, XYZ Films
EXCLUSIVE: Sumerian Pictures, the division of Sumerian Records that released its first film in 2023, has picked up U.S. rights to Mile End Kicks, an indie rom-com starring Euphoria‘s Barbie Ferreira that premiered to critical acclaim at this year’s Toronto Film Festival.
The film, from writer-director Chandler Levack (I Like Movies), which currently sits at 100% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, will be released nationwide at a date not yet disclosed.
In Mile End Kicks, Grace Pine (Ferreira) is a 24-year-old music critic in the summer of 2011 writing a book about Alanis Morissette’s Jagged Little Pill, when she gets romantically involved with two people in the same struggling indie rock band. Set in Montreal’s Mile End music scene, where Mac DeMarco, Arcade Fire and Grimes started their careers, the film is an honest look at a young female writer reclaiming her voice, full of ill-advised sex, drugs and rock n’ roll.
Sumerian Pictures’ President of Content Strategy, Rob Williams, said the film is “smart, hilarious and speaks from the heart.” It is, in other words, “exactly the kind of film you want to see with an audience.”
XYZ Films co-financed Mile End Kicks in conjunction with IPR.VC and reps global sales rights outside Canada. A Zapruder Films/Banner House Production, produced with the participation of Telefilm Canada, SODEC, Ontario Creates, Crave and CBC Films, in association with Rhombus Media, it also stars Devon Bostick (Oppenheimer), Stanley Simons (The Iron Claw), Juliette Gariépy (Red Rooms) and Jay Baruchel (BlackBerry).
The film is produced by Matthew Miller (BlackBerry), Pat Kiely (Three Night Stand) and Julie Groleau (The Decline) and will be released in Canada by Elevation Pictures, with Entract Films releasing in Québec.
In a statement to Deadline, Levack said, “I’m utterly delighted that American audiences will have the chance to see Mile End Kicks on the big screen next year! My favourite cinematic experiences have all been watching rom-coms in a theatre and I can’t wait to laugh, cry and cringe with you. Thank you so much to Sumerian Pictures for their support and my producing team and our partners. I am especially grateful to my brilliant cast and team of collaborators who helped me tell this story across the two solitudes of Ontario and Quebec.”
Sumerian has recently been involved with indies including Queen of the Ring, starring Emily Bett Rickards, Josh Lucas, and Walton Goggins; Divinity, from executive producer Steven Soderbergh, which premiered at Sundance; and Turnstile: Never Enough, which premiered at the 2025 Tribeca Festival. Williams negotiated the Mile End Kicks acquisition on behalf of Sumerian Pictures with Pip Ngo at XYZ Films.
