Filmmaker Léa Pool (Lost and Delirious) is making the coming-of-age movie Ma mère est chez le coiffeur (My Mother Is at the Hairdresser’s). The $4.3-million feature, which began shooting in Montreal July 16 and wraps Aug. 31, involves an adolescent girl who experiences a bittersweet summer when her mother goes away to work.

‘We knew that Léa was the right person to do this,’ says Lyse Lafontaine, who produces with Michael Mosca of Equinoxe Productions. She has done such wonderful work with young actors – from Lost and Delirious to The Blue Butterfly – we thought she was a very natural choice for this film.’

Lafontaine (Un dimanche à Kigali) says the lengthy shoot time is due to the fact that shooting days are restricted to nine hours. ‘We have a lot of child actors in the cast, so our days are shorter, that’s why we’re taking it to the end of August.’

The script, by Isabelle Hébert, is both nostalgic and forward-thinking at once, she adds. ‘The film looks back to a time when children could go out and play in a field and their parents wouldn’t be worried. But the family is also dealing with the aftermath of a divorce, and back then, divorce was much, much more rare.’

The central role is played by Marianne Fortier. The cast also includes Céline Bonnier, Gabriel Arcand and Laurent Lucas. Shot by cinematographer Daniel Jobin and edited by Dominique Fortin, Ma mère will be distributed by Equinoxe Films next year.