Félix et Meira

Félix et Meira centres on a relationship that develops between a young married Orthodox Jewish woman and a young man in her neighbourhood who is mourning his father’s death. Meira’s world is confined to the few blocks of the insular Mile End neighbourhood of Montréal, where hipsters cross paths with Orthodox Hasidim, but she isn’t like the other Orthodox wives. While most accept it as a duty to bear their husbands as many children as possible, Meira hides the truth from her husband that she takes birth-control pills. She also sings along to a forbidden record when she has the house to herself. Felix, on the other hand, deals with his grief by looking for new horizons, new conquests. He hits on Meira the first time he sees her, despite the fact they don’t even speak the same language. The film was shot using English, Yiddish and French. Despite this obvious problem Félix tries to chat her up whenever their paths cross. While Meira isn’t looking to cheat on her husband, she is definitely looking for something more than her narrow existence can offer.

Félix et Meira screened in the Contemporary World Cinema section at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival. It was selected by Telefilm Canada to be the Canadian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 88th Academy Awards.