The Toronto feature film comedy Middle Life screened at the 44th Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF).
Middle Life is a wonderful movie set in Toronto and Los Angeles, and stars Peter Dreimanis and Leah Fay Goldstein. You might recognize their names, as they are also the lead singers in the alternative rock band July Talk.
Here is our conversation with actor, producer, and rock star, Leah Fay Goldstein.
Photo: Ty Snaden
HNMAG: You’re also a producer on Middle Life. Was that something that you were asked to do?
Leah Fay Goldstein: It’s more just that we were working with a minuscule budget and it was an all hands on deck, all favours being called in kind of scenario. When we do projects like this our tour van becomes the production van, my bedroom is full of pulled wardrobe on racks (my own clothes), we put Pavan up in our basement and we call on everyone we know for locations. It might not be what most producers do on a film but our film wouldn’t have happened without that kind of spirit or a tight-knit DIY crew.
HNMAG: Did you grow up in Toronto?
Leah Fay Goldstein: I did, yes. My grandparents met outside the Parkdale library and my parents met at U of T.
HNMAG: When did you decide to use your last name?
Leah Fay Goldstein: It’s not really like that. When I was growing up my family’s surname wasn’t listed on both my paternal and maternal sides because my dad is a reporter who would get death threats and my mom’s parents were war refugees who were always worried they’d be found overseas. I think it was just kind of engrained that in me that it’s better to be vague so I felt safer using my first and middle name only when we started the band. I wanted to be credited as “Leah Goldstein” when we made Diamond Tongues as a way to separate music from acting incase my acting was horrible.
HNMAG: You just use Goldstein for a screen name?
Leah Fay Goldstein: I mean privacy isn’t really a thing anymore and I don’t think it’s important to separate anything, so I just use Leah Fay Goldstein.
HNMAG: When did you start performing as a singer?
Leah Fay Goldstein: When I was in university I began songwriting and started a band with my friend Adrienne. We had a band called Mothers Of Brides for a while. Then I met Peter in 2010.
HNMAG: Were you playing at a small club in Toronto, where he saw you?
Leah Fay Goldstein: We were just at a table at our friend’s mostly empty bar late at night, and there was a guitar so we asked if we could rehearse.
HNMAG: That’s awesome. That’s great.
Leah Fay Goldstein: Peter and his bandmate came in and sat at the table beside us and we started going song for song – that’s how we met.
HNMAG: July Talk’s Music Videos are very stylized with unique stories within them. Also shot in black-and-white. There’s a very cinematic feel to those videos. It’s not surprising that you and Peter would gravitate towards film.
Leah Fay Goldstein: Yes, Peter was in film school for a while with our bass player, Josh.
HNMAG: Nice, that makes sense.
Leah Fay Goldstein: When I met them, they had a film company and they were making a lot of videos for other bands. I went to school for contemporary dance and performance/video art. There was a crossover between worlds. A lot of the community that made Middle Life possible are artists and filmmakers who collaborated on July Talk videos as well.
HNMAG: July Talk played the Commodore in Vancouver on March 29th and 30th, 2023. They will be back on March 11th, 2026. It’s a really fun venue to see your band.
Leah Fay Goldstein: Absolutely. We really enjoy it. We’re doing 2 nights!
HNMAG: Did July Talk play at a Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) party when you met Pavan Moondi, the director of Middle Life?
Leah Fay Goldstein: Yes, we were playing at a TIFF party. My memory is that the producer of Diamond Tongues, Brian Robertson, came up to me moments before we went on stage and said “My friend is a director and we’re making a film. We think you’d be perfect for the lead”. I’d never acted but when they sent the script I really loved it and the idea of playing someone who was driven but conniving and intensely insecure was so exciting. Pavan and I met for coffee and I found him hilarious even when he wasn’t trying to be and felt close to him instantly. I had concerns about a sex scene and an acid scene in the script and he made it clear that I’d have agency in how they would be realized on screen. And he asked Peter to shoot it so I knew it would be a comfortable vibe to try out acting for the first time.
HNMAG: Edith in Diamond Tongues is a challenging role because her internal motivations are masked due to navigating the competitive nature of being a struggling film and TV actor. It’s been around ten years, but Andy in Middle Life is very different. She’s married and has a child, and is going through a lot. She has her own business. She’s a very complicated character. The relationships are full of conflict and struggle. What would it be like if Andy were polyamorous?
Leah Fay Goldstein: It would be a very different movie. I’m sure of it.
HNMAG: Andy is a wedding planner, so being polyamorous would also change that aspect. To begin with, Andy’s world is surrounded by marriage.
Leah Fay Goldstein: Yes.
HNMAG: Middle Life is very much a Toronto story, but then it takes an LA turn. That was Andy and Ryan’s first trip to LA.
Leah Fay Goldstein: Yes.
HNMAG: They get enamored with the whole tourist aspects of the city.
Leah Fay Goldstein: They do, I think I felt that way the first time I went to LA too, it’s impossible not to.
HNMAG: We are shown a surprisingly dark side with that other character who is living in his car. It seems possible that you’ll run into someone like that who seems put together. You take a deep dive into that person, and there’s something not so safe. Pavan is from Toronto and now lives in LA. He has that unique perspective.
Leah Fay Goldstein: Ya I think Dusty’s character provides a more nuanced look at what it’s like to try to make it in LA. It’s an extreme version but people move around all the time to pursue a better life, and then when you arrive sometimes it’s more complicated. I think LA really suits Pavan but I feel like with the film, he wanted to show the way a lot of the world just sees this magical place. It’s like really shiny and glossy on the outside, and then when you get there, it’s obviously just a city in the desert where people are trying to make it work.
HNMAG: Have you ever had a strawberry from California?
Leah Fay Goldstein: I think so.
HNMAG: They’re sold in Canada. They’re really pretty on the outside. They’re really big and they look really tasty. Then you bite into them and there’s nothing inside. It tastes empty.
Leah Fay Goldstein: That’s the symbolism?
HNMAG: Analogy with the industry in Los Angeles.
Leah Fay Goldstein: Interesting. I like LA.
HNMAG: The first time Andy gets together with Ryan she doesn’t have her wedding ring, and she lied about it. Do you think that she actually wanted something to happen with Ryan at that point?
Leah Fay Goldstein: This is something that Pavan, Jared and I talked about at length because I think it just depends on what your assumptions are. That’s one take on it. Is she consciously planning on cheating on her husband? Maybe? As a new parent though, your time and being are completely monopolized by your child. When you can finally get a minute away from your domestic situation, you might just want to talk about something else if it’s not hurting anyone.
HNMAG: Being a parent, would it be better to figure out another way to have your own space and time away from your family?
Leah Fay Goldstein: A great question for Pavan and Andy! I dunno, I’m not in the business of telling families how to navigate their home lives. For me personally, I joined a Ukrainian Folk Choir that met weekly when my kid was around 20 months old. It meant a lot to me to take space to do something that was just for me and my niche interests but I recognize that that would make for a pretty shitty movie… albeit with a very beautiful score.
Middle Life is not like any movie you have seen before. Everyone is flawed but also has strengths and reasons to root for. It’s a lot like life. Even the casting is unique, as both lead actors have had successful careers together in another creative field. Middle Life is about relationships, friendship, parenthood, living and working in Toronto, and visiting LA. It’s not what you think, so you will just have to watch it. Leah Fay Goldstein is also a unique performer. She can also be surprising and beautiful, and if you like good music, you should also check out July Talk at one of their live shows.