Private Project

Le Magic Hat

Amélie, a playful 6 year-old who speaks only English must charm a stern principal to join a French school in Quebec, only to discover that being herself is the real magic.

  • Lisetty Sandoval
    Director
    Penelope's Story
  • Lisetty Sandoval
    Writer
  • Lisetty Sandoval
    Producer
  • Ryan Baily
    Producer
    Penelope's Story
  • Amelie Baily
    Key Cast
    "Amelie"
  • Nicole Gravalle
    Key Cast
    "Madame Bourgeois"
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Comedy, Family
  • Runtime:
    6 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    June 1, 2026
  • Country of Origin:
    Canada
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
Director Biography - Lisetty Sandoval

Ecuadorian-Canadian Award-winning filmmaker and Founder of iLumival Productions.

Her debut feature, Penelope’s Story was an official selection at five Canadian and International film festivals, earning two nominations and one award.
It has secured global distribution through the TV App FAWSOME TV.

Born in Guayaquil, Ecuador, she discovered her passion for filmmaking at age 15, creating stories inspired by songs and simple phrases. Determined to pursue her craft, she immigrated to Canada alone and studied Film and Television Production at Humber College and trained under industry veteran Thomas Dean Donnelly (Conan the Barbarian).

Lisetty has directed and produced both narrative and documentary films, including The Fallen and El Blanco, and contributed to the community talk show Horizons at Rogers TV in Toronto. She also holds a Business Management certification from the University of Toronto, which she uses to bridge her creative work with entrepreneurial strategy.

Lisetty’s work celebrates the triumph of the human spirit. She believes in using media to inspire transformation, motivate audiences, and help people become the best version of themselves.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

Le Magic Hat is inspired by a real moment in my family’s life in Quebec, when my daughter experienced the challenge of entering a French school as an English-speaking child.
As a filmmaker and a mother, I wanted to preserve not only the emotional truth of that experience, but also its humour, imagination, and resilience as seen through a child’s eyes. What emerged was a bilingual short film where English, French, and a touch of Spanish naturally coexist, reflecting the world my daughter is growing up in.

This film is especially personal because my daughter Amelie plays herself in her first on-screen role. Making the film together became an extension of the story itself: a shared creative space where we revisited a real experience through play, performance, and collaboration.

At its heart, Le Magic Hat is about belonging, not through changing who we are, but through discovering that who we already are is enough.