Cricket and Parc-Ex: A Love Story

Immigrants and Sports in a Vibrant Canadian Neighbourhood

This film takes us inside the world of cricket and the daily life of Montreal's Parc Extension - one of Canada's poorest yet most vibrant immigrant neighbourhoods.

Little known in French Canada (Quebec), cricket has hundreds of millions of fans worldwide. For the immigrant cricket players in Parc-Ex, cricket is a buffer, an arena in which they can find success, dignity, and community recognition as they slowly integrate into Quebec society. As we immerse ourselves in their world, we get to know several local cricket players including Suk, a 66 year old who immigrated from Guyana over 40 years ago and now sells and repairs cricket equipment in the basement of his grocery store; Raiyan, a 17-year-old aspiring cricket star who came to Montreal only two years ago from Bangladesh; and Huma, Alishba, Suma, and Eeman - a group of four girls of Pakistani origin who challenge the belief that only boys can play cricket. As we get to know them, we also learn more about how to play the world's second most popular sport.