Author: Marc Olivier Laramée

Categories
Arts

A new, yet familiar face is at the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal.

Press photo

The only Canadian museum exclusively dedicated to contemporary art just got itself a new director. Concordia University graduate, John Zeppetelli, is the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal’s 13th director.

Press photo

Zeppetelli’s travels abroad have given him the opportunity to embrace all kind of arts, but this opportunity is specific to contemporary art. After completing his studies at Concordia, Zeppetelli left for England. This was the turning point in his career. At the Institute of Contemporary Arts, he worked with Iwona Blazwick who went on to create the Tate Modern, Britain’s national gallery of international modern art in London.

In New York, Zeppetelli graduated from the Whitney Museum of American Art’s independent study program; a prestigious curriculum wherein only 15 students get the opportunity to learn the ins and outs of cultural organizations.

Upon returning to Montreal in the mid ‘90s, Zeppetelli worked as a librarian in Hampstead, Montreal, and often lectured for art history and design at Concordia. In addition, Zeppetelli took on the position of curator at the Saidye Bronfman Center. Afterwards, he worked as the art director and chief curator of the DHC/ART foundation for contemporary art for the next six years.

At that point, Zeppetelli had cultivated a wide contact roster that has now become valuable to his new directorial career.

His nomination as the head of the Montréal Contemporary Museum is something of a  revolution in the museum’s history. He is the first amongst the museum’s 13 directors in 50 years not to come directly from within the organization.

Zeppetelli is excited about the large undertaking of renewing the museum’s physical space. With help from the board of directors, the museum will receive funding of $35 million for expansion that will double the gallery space, and create a new entrance on St. Catherine Street.

“If everything goes well, in one year or so, construction should start,” said Zeppetelli. The museum renovations would be ready in 2017 for the 375th anniversary of the city of Montreal.

“It is important to offer platforms to exchange ideas, debate, discover. We do it but I want more. Presenting conferences, movie projections, this is my new vision of the museum,” said Zeppetelli

He wants to combine and continue to use the museum to welcome the Jazz Festival, POP Montreal, Nuit Blanche as well as welcoming electronic music.

Respecting the museum’s original mission is also important for Zeppetelli, adding that it is imperative that they “promote and preserve contemporary Québec art and to ensure [there is] a place for international contemporary art through acquisitions, exhibitions.”

The Montréal Biennale of 2014 is an event the museum looks forward to participating in. It is Zeppetelli’s goal to put his museum back on track and position it at the forefront of the world’s contemporary arts stage.

More information: http://www.macm.org/en/

Categories
Arts

It’s that documentary time of year

Egyptian director’s film, The Square, will open the Montreal International Documentary Festival in November. Press photo

Next month, the Arab spring, Québec student protests and the oldest women’s group in Québec will be among some of the many topics to be showcased from Nov. 13 to 24 at the Montreal International Documentary Festival. The festival will present 135 movies from 43 countries.

Egyptian director’s film, The Square, will open the Montreal International Documentary Festival in November. Press photo

“Students must know that all screenings before 5:00 p.m. are free for them during the week. They should not think that documentaries are only for the elite,” said Charlotte Sab, the director of programming for the festival.

The 16th edition of the festival is the biggest of its history. It gives the opportunity for filmmakers to meet people from the industry and give them a chance to receive distribution offers through the Docu Circuit, the only bilingual market in North America for documentary professionals. The festival’s other mission, of course, is to present the films to the general public.

Opening the festival is The Square (Al Midan) by Jehane Noujaim. It is 99 minutes of almost all live documentary footage of the Egyptian protests. Starting from January 2011, where the protests resulted in the ousting of President Mubarak, to this year’s protests that saw the fall of President Morsi.

On a similar topic, Vers Madrid (The Burning Bright!) by Sylvain George from France, revolves around the Occupy movement in Madrid. The filmmaker worked with only one camera to produce a newsreel depicting how people in the streets protested against global capitalism and the austerity budget in Europe.

At the festival, there are several official competitions such as the International Feature Competition, where 12 films will compete such as E agora? Lembra-me by Joaquim Pinto. This documentary film won two awards at the prestigious Locarno festival in Switzerland. Pinto, who suffers from HIV and Hepatitis C, takes us through his journey of dealing with the disease, and his experience during clinical trials. Inspite of hardship, Pinto remains strong, battling with his diseases on film—all for the art of the documentary.

In the Canadian competition, the world premiere of the documentary À jamais, pour toujours by Quebec’s Alexandra Sicotte-Lévesque, should not be missed among the 11 others in this category. The documentary presents the religious tensions between southern Catholics and northern Muslims in Sudan.

Finally the International Short and Medium-length competition, with 20 films, concludes the competitions. A short film, Da Vinci by Yuri Ancarani, is about incursions in the human body. The film documents surgeries conducted by robots, and shows how live surgeries are performed. It is one of the must-see projects.

The closing movie is quite different and aims to make you laugh. Fermières, by Annie St-Pierre from Québec, presents the oldest women’s group still in existence, Les Cercles des Fermières du Québec. During the course of one year, the film follows the president and members of the group in the preparation of activities, the nature of their meetings, and even the preparation of their recipes.

The festival offers more than just documentaries. Debates, discussions, photo exhibitions and around 20 free concerts are held at the festival’s headquarters on 3450 St-Urbain Street.

The festival wants to let the public participate in projecting the films. This is why, every night from 6:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m., an interactive installation, Kino-Pedals at the St-Laurent metro exit, will make the audience pedal to let the shorter films roll.

Films of the Montreal International Documentary Festival will be played from Nov. 13 to 24 at Cinéma du Parc, Cinéma Excentris and at the National Film Board of Canada. For tickets info and the full program go to ridm.qc.ca

Categories
News

Concordia waits to take a position on controversial charter

With many taking sides on the Parti Québécois’ proposed Charter of Values, Concordia University’s official stance remains to be seen.

University President Alan Shepard who consider’s Concordia’s diverse community of some 46,000 students from over 150 countries as a strength, is consulting with the Board of Governors before making a proposal on the university’s stance regarding the charter that promotes the secularization of Quebec public institutions.

“I would like to reassure the Concordia community of our deepest respect for diversity, inclusion and freedom of thought,” said Shepard in a statement issued on Sept. 18.

Shepard wrote it is too soon to know what exactly will be included in the legislation. The university is waiting for this draft legislation to be tabled, and will only then take a position.

“During Thursday’s [Sept. 19] board of governors meeting, the president consulted with governors on the proposed Charter of Values and will continue to consult with the Concordia community,” said Concordia spokesperson Chris Mota.

In the released statement, Shepard encouraged Concordians to participate in this public consultation process set up by the Quebec government, by sending comments to Bernard Drainville, the minister responsible for Democratic Institutions and Active Citizenship.

The charter’s five proposals are: to amend the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms; establish a duty of neutrality and reserve for all state personnel; limit the wearing of conspicuous religious symbols; make it mandatory to have one’s face uncovered when providing or receiving a state service; and to establish implementation policy for state organizations.

“The board is committed to respecting the diversity of the Concordia community,” said Mota.

Other universities and CEGEPs in Quebec have already made known their positions on the proposed charter.

On Sept. 17, McGill University sent out a news release where Principal and Vice-Chancellor Suzanne Fortier affirmed religious choice and cultural diversity as essential values for the McGill community and opposed the charter.

The news release stated, “The proposal to prohibit our professors and staff from wearing visible religious symbols runs contrary to our principles.”

Richard Filion, Director of General of Dawson College, also opposed the proposed charter.

Bishops University, Vanier College, and John Abbott College are among the schools yet to have taken a position.

With files from Kelly Duval.

Categories
Music

Music in the News – Sept. 17, 2013

Arcade Fire burn up Salsatèque with two surprise shows

Arcade Fire performed two surprise concerts at Salsatèque on Peel street last week on Monday and Tuesday. The Montreal based band decided on two intimate shows without any prior advertising. A leak in the media created a news tornado around their appearance at the salsa club. The point of these concerts was to launch their fourth album. Their new song “Reflektor,” made it to the blogosphere which is why many audience members knew the words by heart already. Some die hard fans waited up to eight hours in line to get into the club.

Miley Cyrus’ shocking new video for “Wrecking Ball”

Miley Cyrus continues to rule headlines even after her scandalous performance at the MTV Video Music Awards. Earlier this week, she released her new music video for the song, “Wrecking Ball”. After only 24 hours, the video received over 59 million views. In the video, Cyrus balances herself on a demolition ball completely in the nude.

Apple set to release iTunes Radio

After having just launched the iPhone 5s and 5c, Apple is preparing to release iTunes Radio. On Sept. 18, the California company will offer a non-stop music radio system for the U.S. only. Based on the customer use of iTunes and iTunes Radio, this streaming system will offer personalized radio stations. It will not be possible to choose which song you want to listen to or create personal playlists. The service will be free of charge, but if you want to remove publicity such as ads, it will cost you $24.99.

Second volume of unreleased Beatles material to surface

Yes, it’s true. A new Beatles album will be released on Nov. 11. Nearly 19 years after the Live at the BBC album was released, a second volume of unreleased material will be made available to the public. The volume will include 37 unreleased live versions of many classic Fab Four songs along with interviews and discussions from 1963 and 1964. The release of a second volume was prompted after the wild success of the first set of BBC recordings back in 1994. 

Categories
Arts

The story of a single photograph

Man’s first step on the moon, Tiananmen Square, Auschwitz. These are some of the images that flicker across the screen.

Remodeling the touching and heartbreaking Pulitzer prize-winning photo, Firing Squad in Iran, A Dress Rehearsal for an Execution aims to recreate the historical moment of the execution of 11 people during Iran’s revolution of 1979. Press photo

 Meanwhile, as a man and woman discuss these pictures, an image of 11 people being executed appears.

Remodeling the touching and heartbreaking Pulitzer prize-winning photo, Firing Squad in Iran, A Dress Rehearsal for an Execution aims to recreate the historical moment of the execution of 11 people during Iran’s revolution of 1979. The film, made in Montreal and directed by Concordia student Bahman Tavoosi, is “the story of a photographer whose photo becomes seen and celebrated around the world but he himself remains anonymous for a long time to save his life.”

In this meta-docudrama, Tavoosi traces the two-year period in which he tries to recreate the famous picture with actors, by constructing the set to resemble, as closely as possible, the same environment of the picture. We follow the auditions, rehearsals in the studio and the hours of research.

Creating the ambiance of the revolution tension with the presentation of original clips, the film perfectly involves its audience in the emotions of the victims. It was not enough for Tavoosi that the set be a copy of that of the photo’s, he was determined to have the perfect casting. It was imperative that the actors understand the power of the photo, consequently, the team he assembled had had their own experiences with oppression.

Press photo.

“For my generation, growing up in post-revolution Iran, films played very significant roles,” replied Tavoosi when asked about his motivation to make this film. “From a very early age, we grew up watching the works of the world independent masters of cinema, since any Hollywood products were banned. It therefore shaped a certain aesthetic and understanding of cinema among my generation which later on impacted our artistic path.”

A Dress Rehearsal for an Execution is as emotionally engaging for its director as it is for the audience as we see the reactions of the actors being rounded up in a bus, taken to the location where the execution is to take place and standing in front of the firing squad. Although the original photo was in black and white, the final scene is perfectly lit, shot in full colour adding to the realism of this re-enactment. They say a photo is worth a thousand words but it is this film that fully speaks to the injustices that took place in this turbulent time in Iranian history.

 

Categories
Student Life

Keep the bank off your buns: Practice safe plastic

New semester, new teachers and new friends often also means new clothes, new cell phone, new computer and plenty of nights out on the town. How do students manage to pay for all these expenses? A credit card is an easy solution and getting approved can be easy as pie. However managing how you spend the money and paying on time is the challenge. According to Maclean’s Magazine, 9 students out of 10 have a credit card but the question is whether students really know how to use one responsibly.

Flickr photo by Michael Swan

It is no wonder that financial institutions seek out students as customers; students need money, especially during back-to-school when tuition and school books are a major expense. While many banks offer student friendly perks, it is important to remember how owning a credit card can be a double-edged sword. It can help balance your budget and build credit but, if used irresponsibly, can put you into trouble for years after you have graduated.

“Students should not be living on money they don’t have. They should calculate their cost of living with incomes if they work and establish a strict limit for the expenses,” said Kylie-Anne Doerner from the Consolidated Credit Counselling Services of Canada.Students should take precautions with their credit cards by setting up a budget.

It is important to consider the reasons why you should get a credit card. Getting a credit card for a shopping spree is a bad idea, as is planning a whole Europe trip and charging it to your credit card. According to Valeria Fargnoli, an account manager at the Royal Bank of Canada, students should only use their credit card in case of emergency.

“Some people use their credit card as current extra cash they can spend,” said Fargnoli, “and results in spending money [they] don’t have.”

Banking has become more electronic which can make it hard to grasp how we dispense our money especially when all it takes is the swipe of a card. For some students it may be better to use cash.

“Using my credit card is so easy,” said JMSB student Nicolas Smith. “It is easier than going to an ATM to withdraw cash.”

However, when the end of the month rolls around Smith is left sitting with a maxed out credit card and a whole lot of regret.

CCCSA recommends that students own credit cards but that they should be used responsibly. One way of doing this is reading the fine print.

The majority of credit cards have a 19.99 per cent interest rate. Credit cards sold and solicited over the counter at stores often have higher interest rates of 25 to 40 per cent. Contact your financial institution and get informed on what benefits there are to being a student credit card holder. Many banks offer reward points like Air Miles, Aeroplan, movie points and student price card discounts.

Paying your credit card balance is the next step. You have 21 days to pay your credit balance after the final day of your bill’s cycle. CCCSA recommends paying the full balance of your account to avoid situations in which that $12 school book triples in price due to monthly interest. Programming automatic transfers to your credit card is an option to ensure timely payments.

Now, how to decide on a limit: Bank of Montreal encourages a $1,000 credit card limit for students. However, you might want to be conservative with your limit. Having a higher one can encourage you to spend more. Fargnoli advises that “expenses or your credit card should not be more than 10% of your biweekly income.”

“When I was a student, payments would go through automatically,” said Concordia graduate Carolina Gonzalez Gonzalez. “It was the best thing because it allowed me to prepare for the next step [of my life] without worrying about my credit card bill.”

Financial stress weighs heavily on students who pay rent, tuition, school books and the occasional round of beers when out with friends. However, being aware of money spent and keeping informed on the amount a credit card is swiped is something that students should start and continue to do if they wish to remain financially stable.

Exit mobile version