Canadian-Latina filmmaker Patricia Chica’s directorial debut, Montréal Girls, is set to make its world premiere at the Cinequest Film & Creativity Festival in California in August.

The coming-of-age drama is also up for the Visionary Award granted to new directors and new voices at the festival, which runs Aug. 16 to 29.

Produced by Chica with Montreal-based Objectif 9’s Bahija Essoussi and Samuel Gagnon with a budget of $1.8 million, the film is distributed by Filmoption International, through which executive producers Paul Cadieux and Maryse Rouillard acted as investors.

The film was produced with the financial participation of Telefilm Canada, SODEC, the Harold Greenberg Fund, and national and provincial tax credits. It was also supported through the TIFF Filmmaker Lab, U.S. and Canada In Progress, the CFC/Slaight Family Canadian Music Fund, ChicArt and Flirt Films.

The El Salvador-born, Montreal-raised Chica, who divides her time between Montreal and Los Angeles, directed the 94-minute feature and co-wrote it with her writing partner, Kamal John Iskander.

The story, which is inspired by filmmaker Chica’s personal experience navigating Montreal’s subcultures both as a documentarian and insider, will premiere at Cinequest at the California Theatre in San Jose on Aug. 20.

Montréal Girls features a Middle Eastern student looking for love and enlightenment while discovering his true calling to be a poet. The cast includes newcomer Hakim Brahimi, along with Jasmina Parent, Sana Asad, Jade Hassouné, Nahéma Ricci and Manuel Tadros.

“I strive to tell inspiring stories that explore universal themes to which audiences worldwide can connect and relate,” said Chica, who is repped by Mojo Global Arts, in a statement.

Festival programming director Michael Rabehl called it a “captivating debut feature” that “feels like it was made for Cinequest and its adventurous audiences.”