How Specificity Makes Better Films: ‘Mile End Kicks’ and ‘I Like Movies’ Director Chandler Levack Explains

In this episode of the No Film School Podcast, host GG Hawkins talks with writer-director Chandler Levack about making I Like Movies , Mile End Kicks , and Roommates , and how Levack protects a specific filmmaking voice while moving between indie features and studio comedy.

They discuss the realities of Canadian film financing, directing with limited time and bigger resources, building cinematic worlds through research and memory, and why filmmakers have to keep making work instead of treating one movie as their only chance.

In this episode, we****discuss:

• How I Like Movies helped open doors for Mile End Kicks
• Why Mile End Kicks had to be shot in Montreal’s Mile End neighborhood
• The overlap of finishing one film while prepping and shooting another
• What changed when Levack moved from indie filmmaking to a studio comedy
• How music journalism shaped Levack’s directing and world-building
• Why specificity in props, costumes, locations, and character details matters
• Navigating male-dominated creative spaces as a woman filmmaker
• The value and complications of film criticism
• Building a body of work through collaboration, experimentation, and persistence

Guests:

• Chandler Levack

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