Montreal, My Beautiful

Feng Xia, a 53-year-old Chinese immigrant and mother living in Montreal, has spent her life shaped by duty — to her family, her culture, and a loveless marriage. But when she meets Camille, a spirited young Québécoise, a long-buried desire is awakened. In the balmy and joyful Montreal summer, Feng Xia takes the radical step of choosing herself — embarking on a journey of forbidden love and long-overdue self-discovery. Her awakening becomes a profound reckoning with identity, exile, and the steep cost of liberation.

Starring — Joan Chen and Charlotte Aubin

Written & Directed by — Xiaodan He

Cinematography — Marie Davignon, C.S.C

Editing — Tao Gu

Original Music — Gaétan Gravel

Producer — Christine Falco, Les Films Camera Oscura

Co-producer — Xiaodan He, Red Dawn Productions

Montreal, Canada (May 15, 2025) — Acclaimed actress Joan Chen (The Last Emperor, Twin Peaks, Lust, Caution, Didi — Independent Spirit Award nominee for Best Supporting Performance) stars in Montréal, ma belle (Montreal, My Beautiful), a deeply emotional family drama and May-December lesbian love story from Chinese-Canadian director Xiaodan He. Produced by Christine Falco (Les Films Camera Oscura) in co-production with He’s Red Dawn Productions, the film is being launched for international sales by Filmoption at the Marché du Film in Cannes.

Montréal, ma belle is a landmark in queer Asian diaspora cinema — the first theatrical feature to center a repressed Chinese lesbian protagonist.

Feng Xia, a 53-year-old Chinese immigrant and mother living in Montreal, has spent her life shaped by duty — to her family, her culture, and a loveless marriage. But when she meets Camille, a spirited young Québécoise, a long-buried desire is awakened. In the balmy and joyful Montreal summer, Feng Xia takes the radical step of choosing herself — embarking on a journey of forbidden love and long-overdue self-discovery. Her awakening becomes a profound reckoning with identity, exile, and the steep cost of liberation.

Drawing from her own immigrant experience and legendary screen presence, Joan Chen delivers a haunting, layered performance as Feng Xia — a role that marks one of the boldest and most original turns of her acclaimed career.

“This role speaks to me on a deeply personal level,” said Joan Chen. “It’s rare to find a script that explores age, sexuality, and cultural dislocation with such depth. I very much enjoyed exploring and inhabiting Feng Xia’s unique world, and I can’t wait for audiences to do the same.”

Director Xiaodan He, who immigrated from China to Montreal in 2002, based the film on her own experience of navigating multiple identities. This is her second narrative feature, following the critically acclaimed A Touch of Spring.

“Feng Xia doesn’t rebel — she survives,” said He. “After decades of silence, she finally dares to love, even knowing it may cost her everything. The film’s title is a tribute to that courage — to the possibility of free love after a lifetime of repression. Through the story of two women from vastly different cultures, I explore the deeper paradoxes at the heart of immigrant life.”

Montréal, ma belle is fully completed and now available for international acquisition in all territories excluding Canada.

Xiaodan He, a Montreal-based Chinese-Canadian filmmaker, studied film production at the Beijing Film Academy of China. In 2002, she immigrated to Canada. In 2013, she founded Red Dawn Productions, and five feature projects, fiction and documentary, were financed by institutions for their development or production. Xiaodan’s main works include The Dance of the Star (fiction, 80 min), Cairo Calling (fiction, 9 min), The Fall of Womenland (documentary, 48 min), A Touch of Spring (feature, 82 min) and My Father’s Journey (documentary, 78 min). Xiaodan is the first Chinese immigrant director to receive grants from Quebec and Canada for a feature film. 

FILMOGRAPHY
My Father’s Journey (我的父亲和他的忧郁) — Documentary, 78 min, 2021
A Touch of Spring — Fiction, Drama, 87 min, 2018
The Fall of Womenland — Documentary, 47 min, 2009

AWARDS & NOMINATIONS
My Father’s Journey
— Pierre and Yolande Perrault Award – Rendez-vous Québec Cinéma (RVQC)

A Touch of Spring
— Best Drama – Rome Independent Film Festival,
— Best Emerging Director – 41st Asian American International Film Festival (New York)
— Best Screenplay – Barcelona Planet Film Festival
— Named one of the 20 Best Films of the Asian Diaspora in 2018 – Polygon (USA)

The Fall of Womenland
— National Geographic Film Festival Award

Founded in 2000 by producer Christine Falco, Les Films Camera Oscura is a Montreal-based company dedicated to the development and production of auteur-driven fiction, documentaries, and immersive works. With nearly thirty films to its credit, the company has garnered acclaim and selections at major festivals including Berlin, Sundance, SXSW, Rotterdam, and TIFF. Recent highlights include three international releases in 2024 and the launch of its first international coproduction. In 2025–2026, the company will release four new projects, including Xiaodan He’s Montréal, ma belle, further cementing its reputation for bold, culturally resonant storytelling.
https://cameraoscurafilms.com/

Red Dawn Productions was founded by Xiaodan He in 2013 in Montreal. The company's primary mandate is to produce films reflecting the reality and culture of minority groups in Canada and elsewhere, especially through the fates of marginalized women. Red Dawn Production has produced one medium-length documentary: The Fall of Womenland; two feature films: Un Printemps d'ailleurs (fiction) and Mon Père et sa Mélancolie (documentary). Two feature fiction films are in development: D'où Vient le Vent and Flower of Dust. All the projects were supported by federal and provincial institutions in Canada and Quebec.
https://www.red-dawn-productions.com/