Felix and Meira

Maxime Giroux’s FELIX AND MEIRA are an unlikely pair. Living off handouts from his sister, Felix is half-heartedly mourning the recent death of his callous, unloving father. Meira, married to devout Shulem, is a young Hasidic Jewish mother who prefers soul music to the strict principles of her religion. She frequently locks herself in the bathroom just to avoid Shulem. Pressure from family and friends to have more children intensifies Meira’s attraction to non-religious life, but secrets are hard to keep in her small Hasidic community. When Felix and Meira first meet at their local pizza shop, Meira avoids brazen Felix’s advances. But upon returning to her claustrophobic home life, she soon seeks out Felix’s company. As their relationship develops, the simple act of wearing a pair of jeans brings Meira previously unknown pleasure. Is this momentary feeling of happiness adequate justification for abandoning the world as she knows it, or is her relationship with Felix too precarious to last? (In English, French and Yiddish with subtitles) – E.B.