MONTREAL -- Couzin Films and director Michael Mackenzie (The Baroness and the Pig) are partway through shooting the feature Adam's Wall, a romantic drama in which a young Lebanese girl falls in love with a Jewish teenager.

Aaron Dwyre (Imitation, 10.5: Apocalypse) plays the young man torn between his Orthodox upbringing and his newfound love, played by Beirut-based actress Flavia Bechara (The Kite).

"Through a little miracle these two manage to find peace and love. And they do it here in Montreal, away from the tension in the Middle East," says producer and Lebanese native Ziad Touma (Saved by the Belles, Webdreams). "We wanted to shoot it here because this city is such a beautiful example of someplace where people coexist peacefully."

The $1.6-million feature is set in Montreal's Mile-End district. The original story comes from Dana Schoel, who cowrote the script with Mackenzie.

Touma says it was a challenge to fill the lead roles with Canadian performers and believes this may be because Canadian minorities aren't drawn to film and TV because there aren't many role models.

And yet, he notes, "In Canada it's much more accepted to see a film like this. It's not necessarily like that in the Middle East. But that's why we make films, to create debate."

The picture will be distributed by Equinoxe Films and was mainly funded by SODEC.