‘Montreal, My Beautiful’ takes top prize at Windsor International Film Festival

By Canadian Press on October 26, 2025.

WINDSOR — “Montreal, My Beautiful” has grabbed the Windsor International Film Festival’s prize in Canadian Film.

The film directed by Montreal-based filmmaker Xiaodan He was among 10 Canadian films vying for WIFF’s top award.

The film stars Joan Chen as a 53-year-old Chinese immigrant and devoted mother living in Montreal who embarks on an affair with a Quebec woman, played by Charlotte Aubin, confronting questions about self-discovery, identity and the cost of liberation.

The southwestern Ontario film festival says in a statement the winner was selected by a jury of industry experts who found the film told “a love story that feels both timeless and new — one that resists familiar tropes in its portrayals of race, gender, and the immigrant experience.”

The drama was announced as the winner of the coveted prize at a private reception on Sunday and He will receive a $25,000 cash prize.

The festival runs from Oct. 23 to Nov. 2.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 26, 2025.

The Canadian Press

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