A high school loner with a passion for photography, Sadie sees the world through the lens of her 35mm camera, experiencing little outside of her traditional family and quiet existence. That is until Nico comes into her life. Though she suffers from Milroy’s Disease — causing her to have an excessively swollen foot and walk with a cane — Nico is undoubtedly the life of the party. Sophisticated and experienced, she introduces Sadie to a new Los Angeles — one flush with music, friends and fashion inspired by the 1960s British Mod subculture.

Now, Sadie’s world begins to transform as she gets caught up in the sex, drugs and rock n’ roll of the mod scene. Experimenting within this new realm, Sadie discovers a world beyond her narrow experiences, and sometimes her comfort zone. As Sadie and Nico venture onto unfamiliar terrain, their newfound romantic relationship tests the limits of a tentative and sometimes vulnerable alliance.

Taking place in modern-day Los Angeles and set to a lively soundtrack of mod music, director E.E. Cassidy creates a heartfelt coming-of-age story centered around winning performances by the two leading actors, Mary Elise Hayden (Nico) and Melia Renee (Sadie). A sensitively rendered and compelling narrative feature, We Are the Mods trains its discerning eye on the ways in which these two young women try to make sense of themselves (and the world around them) and delicately forge identities of their own. — NORA ISAACS