Category: Arts

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Arts

Mank sets out to pay homage to Citizen Kane

David Fincher’s latest film falls flat in revealing Herman J. Mankiewicz’s inner life

Mank was hard to sit through. This is both surprising and disappointing to me, as an avid fan of director David Fincher’s work. But when it comes down to it, Mank simply doesn’t pack the punch it needed to keep me engaged.

The film follows Hollywood screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz as he heals his broken leg in a far-away lodge, writing what would become Citizen Kane. Meanwhile, we jump sporadically into various moments of his past, exploring the people who’ve inspired the script and significant events that affected the writer. These flashbacks, which make up most of the film, attempt to reveal Mankiewicz’s inner life.

The problem is that the flashbacks are confusing and feel disconnected from each other. More generally, Mank has a big editing and writing problem — the entire structure is off. The introduction of flashbacks and the end of “present-day” scenes lack motivation; nothing in a previous scene clearly triggers the succeeding flashback. At points, it almost feels random.

And while you’re trying to figure out the connections between scenes, the excruciatingly long dialogue sequences only add insult to injury. Everything seems so convoluted as characters talk a whole lot about nothing, only making me wonder “Why is this here, and what am I supposed to be learning?” It seemed as though the real story of the film was hidden somewhere in these flashbacks, but the confusing back and forths only make it difficult to know what exactly that is.

I believe that Mank’s structure fails itself because it tried too hard to pay homage to Citizen Kane. The black and white cinematography and 1940s sound is done well and works as intended, but it should have been kept at that.

The reason Citizen Kane’s heavy use of flashbacks works is because the story supports that structure. It’s about a journalist interviewing people who knew the titular character after he died. Its structure is what helps make the story so dynamic. The film also makes explicitly clear the connection between the present scene and the flashback. Mank falls flat relying heavily on flashbacks because its story just doesn’t support it, or at least it didn’t need it. There is no doubt that Fincher can direct complex films, he’s made an admirable career out of it. He just lost something with Mank.

Fincher has had an ability to adapt real stories and novels and transform them into thematically rich pieces; The Social Network is about the development of Facebook on the surface, but really, it’s about friendship, loyalty, betrayal, and the fine line between ambition and greed. Zodiac follows journalists’ and detectives’ search for the Zodiac Killer, but it’s really about the consequences of obsession.

Mank just doesn’t have the same spark. Obviously, it would be ridiculous to assume that every film needs to be deeply philosophical, political, or personal, but Mank seemed like it was setting up something more. When I compare Mank to Fincher’s previous work, I don’t see the same strength in his themes.

Ultimately, Mank is confusing and long, which makes it hard to care about. There is no attempt to connect to its characters, to make them likeable, or to make themes and plot clear.  It’s harsh to say this, especially as a fan of David Fincher, but at the end of the day the descriptors “confusing” and “boring” are accurate, and that is just a bad combination to have.

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Arts

Verses from Montréal offers something for everyone

B.R. Houtman discusses experience, writing, and his debut novel

B.R. Houtman’s Verses from Montréal is for the lovers, the wanderers and all those in between. Set to the backdrop of his first year in Montreal, Houtman explores the city and recounts his experiences through a fresh set of eyes. Houtman decided to spend some time away from his home in Victoria B.C., where he soon fell in love with Montreal and all it had to offer. Although he had been writing poetry prior to moving, his new surroundings inspired him to devote more time to honing his skill. The writer’s debut poetry compilation captures what it means to be part of something more and how those in the city celebrate life in all its most beautiful and complicated states. Split into four sections, the book has a chapter dedicated to each season, offering something for everyone.

“I will say that with the whole seasonal theme and the structure, the premise going into it was that every season is a stage from the human life,” explains Houtman. “At the beginning, it’s a lot of poems about falling in love and these new experiences when I was getting to Montreal.”

Through each section, readers are awarded a glimpse into the author’s ruminations as he falls in sync with the bustle of the city. Although many poems in the book are dedicated to the city’s eccentricities, Houtman sheds light on the intricate moments that make up each of our lives.

While numerous poems were scrawled down during rides on the metro and other outings, it took the author about four months to compile his work and another four to prepare it for publishing. Although the process was arduous at times, the most challenging part for Houtman came after the book had been released.

“Poetry has always been a release and something that is very personal, so I think something that I didn’t expect to be so challenging was making the decision to share it,” he says. “It’s very revealing and you’re making yourself very vulnerable, so that took me a while to get over.”

While every writer has a unique routine, Houtman maintains an allotted time every day to write. “I’m pretty regimented in the sense that I sit down, and I have my times, maybe a few hours in a day,” he says. “I think it has been very fruitful to me, but it may not be how others approach it.”

When his book was finally released back in June, Houtman was pleased to find that readers were connecting to his words on a personal level.

“I think the biggest thing for me is really trying to be true to yourself and recognizing that these things that feel very individual to you are more universal human experiences,” says Houtman. “I think what I’ve realized through this process is if you stay true to representing your own thoughts, you end up being able to connect with people who have those same thoughts in such an intimate way.”

Those looking to purchase a copy of Verses from Montréal can buy directly from Houtman’s website or can visit Librairie St-Henri, Drawn & Quarterly, État de Style, The Word and Librairie l’Échange. 

 

Photos courtesy of B.R. Houtman

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Ar(t)chives Arts

What is art?

Discussing aesthetics, Dadaism, and intention

Art has long been a disputed form of self-expression. The topic has garnered debate among philosophers, art historians, and artists, and even has an entire Wikipedia page dedicated to its controversiality.

Many jokes and memes have been made around the notion of art’s subjectivity. Books, such as Leo Tolstoy’s What is art? have attempted to answer the question, while Instagram accounts such as freeze_magazine poke fun at and ridicule how absurd the art industry can often be. And you’ve definitely seen the prank where a group of friends placed eyeglasses on the floor of the museum to observe viewers’ reactions and point out how almost anything can be considered art.

This dispute has veered towards problematic for the reason that it ultimately validates an artist’s career. What one might deem to be worth thousands of dollars can be viewed as a piece of old junk to another. We’ve all heard of the stories of someone selling a famous painting for close to nothing in a garage sale, merely because they did not know its “worth.”

So, let’s look at this etymologically. “Art” is derived from the Latin “ars” meaning “acquired skill” or “craft.” In this sense, it is commonly understood that art requires a certain level of skill in order to achieve a desired aesthetic result. Herein lies the problem. “Aesthetic,” like the notion of “beauty,” is inherently subjective.

Dadaism is an ideal example because it, at its core, rejected standard notions of aestheticism and poked fun at art in society. Let’s take, for example, Marcel Duchamp’s Readymades. The acclaimed artist began using and presenting everyday objects as pieces of art. This absurd approach to art-making helped redefine what could be considered art and challenged the idea that art had to be something beautiful and visually appealing. Instead, demonstrating that art could be intellectually appealing.

Constantin Brâncuși’s infamous 1923 work Bird in Space (L’Oiseau dans l’espace) is another prime example of the challenges in defining an object as art. The sculpture faced a number of legal controversies when the artist tried to have it shipped to the United States. Customs officers did not believe that the work was art — art, at the time, was not subject to import taxes — and instead were charged with a 40 per cent tax for “manufactured metal objects.”

According to an article titled Is it Art? published by Harvard Law, after a number of years of legal debate, Brâncuși’s Bird in Space was part of the first court decision stating that “non-representational sculpture could be considered art.” In part, on the basis that the artist intended for the sculpture to resemble the movement of a bird.

Intention brings us back to the eyeglasses meme mentioned earlier. Had the glasses been placed on a coffee table in your home, you wouldn’t have thought much of them. Having been placed on the floor of the gallery, viewers automatically begin to search for a meaning and begin to decipher what they believe the artist’s intention was.

For this reason, art is and will remain subjective. While there may never be one true answer as to what constitutes art, one thing is certain: it is personal, self-informed, and different for everyone. So, what do you consider a work of art?

 

Graphic by Taylor Reddam

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Arts

We are wary, we are weary: reflecting on collective experiences during times of crisis

Responding to the pandemic and the current political climate through imagery and text

A part of the Prix Powerhouse 2020, We are wary, we are weary is a window exhibition presented by La Centrale on St-Laurent Boulevard.

We are wary, we are weary exhibits the works of Jenny Lin and Shanna Strauss, Prix Powerhouse 2020 winners.

La Centrale galerie Powerhouse is an artist-run centre dedicated to supporting multidisciplinary feminist practices. Their programming specializes in various dialogues with feminism, supporting social justice and intersectionality. Prix Powerhouse is a two-year award of $10,000 shared between two Montreal artists to celebrate their artistic career and practice.

The works of Lin and Strauss are a response to the pandemic, the current political climate, and the movement for racial justice and equity.

Each artist expresses their own perspective on these current social issues in their respective works, through a compilation of images and texts. This also speaks from the experiences of the artists as Black and Asian people.

Strauss is a Tanzanian-American mixed-media visual artist based in Montreal. She has exhibited in solo and group shows in Tanzania, Canada, the U.S. and Senegal. Her works are very personal and reflective.

By looking at Strauss’s artwork featured in the exhibit, one can see a right hand holding a heart while the left hand holds a needle and thread. The image is printed on a transparent film, leaving the back of the artwork visible. The background depicts newspaper headlines where one can read lines such as “Pandemic Within a Pandemic: Coronavirus and Police Brutality Roil Black Communities,” from The New York Times or “Legault supports protesters, but says there’s no systemic racism in Quebec,” from the Montreal Gazette. Strauss has made this work as a form of offering of healing to the Black community.

In her work’s description, Strauss explains the way she reflected on the collective despair and heartbreak that Black people experience. That despite the pain felt, they have to gather themselves every time they are oppressed and find the strength within themselves to keep fighting the oppression they experience.

“The piece became a meditation on repair,” said Strauss. “I thought about how the wounds that have been inflicted on us by white supremacy for centuries have to be continuously mended by our own hands, and how with every dehumanizing and oppressive act, with every life taken, new wounds are inflicted and old wounds are torn open once again.”

Lin is a visual artist who works with experimental narratives through print-based installations. Storytelling is an important aspect of her work.

Lin’s work Pencil teeth consists of a collection of various drawings made by the artist. The piece consists of hands pointing at drawings, one holding the corner of a sheet can be seen on the artwork. This accumulation of drawings demonstrates the many emotions felt by the artist during the pandemic.

The public can clearly see various hands, which point, react and interact with the drawings, while some hands are holding the corner of a sheet, as the person was observing the image.  This depicts an interaction with both artists when Strauss would show images to Lin. It reflects the way Strauss was processing what she was seeing and Lin was picking parts of the images as she describes, a kind of “interactivity.”

Lin’s statement mentions that her artwork reflects on her feelings and the weariness she has felt during the pandemic, including the way she has been worrying for loved ones and the protectiveness she feels towards the communities she is a part of.

“It is also a response to being for months in a state of overdrive and high-alert — over-functioning for my job to keep things ‘going’, being on edge due to higher incidents of racially-motivated violence, protecting against the virus, and observing the pandemic’s multi-faceted and detrimental effects on the most vulnerable in our communities,” stated Lin.

Strauss and Lin’s works are a representation of the many feelings, thoughts, and worries felt by the artists. Each one expresses the way they have been processing the current unstable political climate and the pandemic, which seems to have shed a light on the realities faced by many communities.

We are wary, we are weary is presented at La Centrale, at 4296  St-Laurent Blvd., until Dec. 12.

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Arts

What do Montrealers think about online exhibitions?

Reflecting on the future of museums, online showings, and art’s place in a COVID-19 world

Before COVID-19, visiting brick and mortar museums in Montreal was rather easy and enjoyable, with many free exhibits offered as well. Now, in a COVID-19 world, and with Montreal in the red zone, museums are not as easily accessible.

Despite this, the good news is that there are a multitude of virtual exhibitions that people can access, free of charge, to get at least some kind of museum experience. The Virtual Museum of Canada has a wide array of exhibitions that people can choose from, most of which are offered in both English and French.

But how much does this switch to online museums actually affect Montrealers? How often did Montrealers go to museums pre-pandemic? Eleven people responded to a survey posted in the Montrealers Helping Montrealers Facebook group. While this is a small number of people compared to the population of the city, this represents the opinions of a microcosm of Montreal.

45.5 per cent of respondents said they went to museums less than once a year, whereas 18.2 per cent of respondents said they visited monthly. 63.6 per cent of participants stated that they were aware of the availability of free museum exhibitions in Montreal, and 36.4 per cent were not.

When specifically asked if they were aware of the Virtual Museum of Canada, 81.8 per cent of respondents said they did not know about it, and only 18.2 per cent were aware of this website. The lack of awareness of the Virtual Museum of Canada website could lead to people missing out on the opportunity for arts access during this pandemic.

The Virtual Museum of Canada is a website that features various art exhibitions exploring different topics. For example, there is a section on History and Society, which features a virtual tour of the monastery of the Ursulines of Québec. Under the Nature section, there is an exhibition called Navigating the Saint Lawrence. This exhibition allows participants to see how the challenges associated with navigating the river have evolved over time.

In the same survey, participants were asked how they felt about the initial closure of museums during the first wave of COVID-19, and the responses were varied.

“It didn’t affect me as I don’t usually visit museums,” said Marta Josefina, 21. “Only for school purposes, I would visit museums.”

“Safety takes priority over museum visits until there is a vaccine,” said Toni Lavery, 65. “I let myself grieve and let it go for the good of all.”

“I felt it was a good choice since it’s not essential,” said Jessica Andrade, 20.

Participants were also asked about whether they think that having access to museums is important or not, and why.

“It’s history and art,” said Jade Jolicoeur, 25. “It helps us see the world through other people’s eyes. It’s very important.”

David Stern, 36, said that it “lifts the spirit and mind” for those who want to attend museums, and Jennifer Michelle stated that “art of all types is an important part of [people’s] [lives].”

Due to the pandemic, the state of brick and mortar institutions might be called into question, including museums. In the same survey, when participants were asked, “Do you think that virtual exhibits will take over brick and mortar museums given the context of the state of Quebec,” only one of the eleven participants said yes.

Taking part in the access to online exhibitions is a great idea. Five of the 11 survey participants said that, on a scale of one to five, their interest in using virtual exhibitions was at four.

For those who are interested in virtual exhibitions, there are many options available.

Morbus Delirium is an interactive exhibition that was put together by the Montreal Science Centre. It is offered in both English and French, and in a mode designed for those who are visually impaired. The exhibition is focused on trying to solve an epidemic that is in Quebec — quite a topical subject matter for an interactive exhibition. This might be controversial, but it can also make people interact with the idea of a virus in a different way. Also, because it is being put out by a Science Centre, it is less likely to take a fear-mongering approach.

The game allows the participant to make a character they will use throughout the story, on an easy or hard level. There are various tasks that must be completed, and there are conversations one follows to contribute to the story. The way the exhibition is set up allows for an immersive experience, even though no one is in the Science Centre physically. It’s a way to keep the culture alive and still have people participate in it.

If people like interactive, story-driven attractions, then checking out Morbus Delirium is a good option.

For those who are looking for a variety of exhibitions that don’t require leaving the house, the Virtual Museum of Canada is the place to explore.

 

Feature image: Screenshot from the the Montreal Science Centre’s Morbus Delirium

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Arts

Artmaking and teaching during the pandemic

Transcendence raises questions about the future of art education

Presented by student-teachers in Concordia’s undergraduate Art Education program, Transcendence explores growth during isolation. The exhibition, which was created for ARTE 432, Community Art Education: Theory and Practice, offers a varied body of work that aims to explore notions of making and teaching, and their effects on one another, during the pandemic.

Showcased with artsteps, an online platform for creating virtual spaces, Transcendence, which opened on Dec. 3, offers viewers an immersive experience. Viewers can interact with the works, which are exhibited in a realistic, simulated gallery-space named Tempo Gallery.

The viewer can make their way around as if they were in a video game. Clicking on an empty patch of grass leads their “player” running to the selected location. Other viewers, or players, can be seen walking around the gallery and its surrounding space.

Maybe this is the future of art-viewing and art making.

The viewer can explore around the outside of the building, which is situated on a waterfront — probably the closest they’ll come to being near the beach for a while.

Around the perimeter of the building, the works of three artists are exhibited. Among them, a multimedia graffiti piece in tones of red, orange, and blue titled Start Where You Are, by Gardenia-Jane Duverger Sarroche.

“Graffiti helps [express] my spontaneous thoughts with the possibility to spray-paint over my written fears and insecurities,” writes Duverger Sarroche in her artist statement. “Starting with scribbled intrusive thoughts on a drawer I found on the streets, I spat colors until I could not perceive my fears anymore.”

Inside the gallery, a series of nine paintings line the first wall. Each one of them features rocks and pebbles balancing atop one another, painted in muted tones of grey, blue, and orange. The digital illustrations, titled Douce Metamorphose, by Pauline Acchab, explore balance and growth.

“Cairns, stacked stones, act as a sign to guide travellers on the right path,” writes Acchab. “The assembled elements, defying the laws of gravity, demonstrate a level of tension with its surroundings while depicting harmony, fragility and stillness.”

Similarly, around the corner, a series of three works by Kassandra Quinteros explore self-growth and development. Braiding Threads is a vibrant photograph featuring a beaded mask worn by a figure who holds and weaves multiple braids in bright purples, yellows, and pinks, which contrast the black background.

“The multitude of threads being braided represents the infinity of information given to me during this academic journey and my personal experiences,” writes Quinteros. “The braid is my way of assembling these threads into one strong creation that defines my own self as a professional and as a person.”

Further into the gallery space, a series of five photographs fills a wall with collage-like images of roads and parking lots. The works, titled Forever Forward, by Rhea Bergeron, all feature a sunset and represent the changes that occur as seasons pass.

“[The sunset moments] could mean that, when a day ends, another begins,” writes Bergeron. “Also, the topic connects to my identity that is constantly changing and evolving throughout the years.”

Be it through Emmanuelle Lemieux’s upcycled papier maché sculptures, Kamila Dube’s mixed media paintings, or Liana Gomes’ photographs and digital illustrations, one thing is certain: self-reflection and experimentation are common themes that have risen as a result of artmaking practices during isolation.

Transcendence makes it clear that isolation is an extraordinary situation which has pushed artists and educators beyond the limits of what is normal. Despite this, these extraordinary measures have allowed for the possibility of creating what could be considered transcendent.

Transcendence will be available for viewing here.

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Arts

A look into the digital generation through paintings

Questioning the politics of contemporary media, network and consumption culture

As the year is ending, Projet Casa has initiated a dynamic exhibition for the second part of its program created for Pictura, an event dedicated to showcasing contemporary painting in Montreal.

Projet Casa, created by visual art enthusiasts Danielle Lysaught and Paul Hamelin, is an initiative that serves to present cultural events.

Curated by Caroline Douville with the help of Venessa Appiah, Echo Boomer: Digital Natives exhibits the works of nine emerging artists who, through various paintings, depict the way that the world has radically changed due to technology.

The artists presented at the exhibition were found on Instagram. Douville, who is a painter, is inspired by old digital work and was in search of similar artists. Douville and  Appiah have been working on the exhibition since the end of October.

The artworks are placed around the first floor and along the stairs to the second floor of where Casa Bianca used to be. They aren’t placed linearly, as one might have thought. Instead, Douville chose to position them in a way that enables the audience to get glimpses of various images at once. This represents the way people interact on the Internet, as there are various images circulating and one has to try to give attention to everything being shown.

“We want people to come in and interact and relate with artworks that depict this generation,” said Douville.

The paintings seek to bring virtual realities to life. Many references are portrayed in these artworks, such as pop culture, videos that went viral, and digital platforms that shaped today’s generation. Fashion, art history, and video games are also concepts included in the works.

“The older generation may get confused, as there are inside stories in these paintings,” said Douville. “I had to explain a concept that the owner of the place didn’t understand from one of the paintings.”

Precisely, there is a lot of irony, comedy, and realness shown in this exhibition. In the Internet era, we are bombarded with new content on a daily basis. The exhibition seeks to portray people’s daily consumption through virtual realities.

“They are nurtured by hyper-consumed and recycled images of universalized popular culture

and new understandings of materiality stemming from virtual space,” wrote Appiah, on the exhibition’s presentation. “These artists capture the algorithmic condition of our time whereby reflections of visual reality are shaped by computerized overload.”

Some paintings may be recognizable for some. For example: Un ti mot pour Kevin (2020) by Erzulie, which is Douville’s artist name, portrays a small canvas of a man holding a beer in a jacuzzi. This is a reference to a YouTube video that was posted in 2008 of a group of friends wishing happy birthday to a man named Kevin. The video was marked in Quebec popular culture forever. Her work emphasizes creating ironic images from entertainment culture.

Chloé Gagnon’s Did We Dream Too Fast (2020) is in reference to avant-garde Russian painter Mikhaïl Larionov’s Jewish Venus (1912). Gagnon’s painting depicts a naked woman laying on a bed in a collage form. Gagnon inserts the concept of collage in her work as a form of identity reconstruction, taking images of pop culture in her work.

Kevin Rameau’s Soundcloud|internet explorer.exe (2020) is the depiction of an artist’s page on SoundCloud, his alter-ego Homie-Kuan. The canvas illustrates a critical commentary on society’s often-biased view of the Black musician.

The concept of consumption can be seen in Antoine Larocque’s Carnaval (2020) canvas, where the public can recognize the word ‘Super’ from Super C’s logo. There are also printing performance tests and scribbles on the canvas that seems to depict the mess behind overconsumption.

There is a lot to see and appreciate in this energetic exhibition.

The exhibition is on display until Dec. 12 at 4351 Esplanade Avenue. Reservations can be made online.

 

Photos courtesy of Sabrina Jolicoeur.

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Arts

The story of the battles and struggles of Iranian women photographers

Online screening of Focus Iran in Montreal: a French documentary about Iran

The International Festival of Films on Art (FIFA), in collaboration with the Maison de la culture de Côte-des-Neiges, presented a free online screening of Focus Iran from Nov. 18 to 19, available to all Canadian residents.

The documentary, Focus Iran (2017), follows the efforts and struggles of five Iranian photographers, including four young women, who have to overcome  many barriers to continue working in their country. It is a story which shows the honest personal narratives of these artists about how they could battle the religious and social taboos to shoot a real image of the invisible folds of current Iranian society.

Directed by French duo Nathalie Masduraud and Valérie Urréa, Focus Iran speaks about the different styles of photography like portraiture, staging, and documentary photography via the personal experiences of their photographers to explore the challenges of being a photographer in Iran.

“After the Islamic revolution in 1979, many artists had to leave Iran. I was lucky to be one of them,” said Montreal-based humanitarian photographer Aydin Matlabi in a phone interview. He was a guest from FIFA for the public screening of this documentary at the McCord Museum two years ago. “The Islamic regime stopped shooting my project because I broke the taboos,” said Matlabi. “This documentary is about these taboos.”

Some photographic subjects are considered taboo by Islamic rules in Iran. For example, it is not possible to shoot a nude body or show women without a veil. If a photo presents a couple, the man is not to be shown beside the woman, and it is forbidden to shoot homosexual people.

Even if photographers could shoot these subjects, they may not be able to display the photos in galleries in Iran.

In this circumstance, it seems impossible to be a photographer, but the documentary tells the story of the photographers who are still working. “They are like the real heroes for me,” said Matlabi. “Despite their chance to leave Iran and despite many social, political and traditional issues, they continue to create the art with their nation.”

These artists use different methods to bypass censorship and limitations. Some of them use metaphor.

“I tried to take the pictures of my subjects in front of my room window where there is a unique background of a grey concrete building. This building was like a metaphor of Iran, whose people suffer the economic and political problems,” said Newsha Tavakolian, one of the women photographers featured in the documentary.

She also discussed another limitation: “The woman artists in Iran are moving in the minefield.”

Iran has a patriarchal society where women encounter many obstacles. The documentary navigates all of the barriers but never talks about them directly. While watching this documentary, the viewer follows the women on their shoots, in their studios, and at different locations to find out how these barriers forced the women to redouble their efforts to reach their goals, despite lacking freedom.

“Focus Iran documented the voice of these artists and gave them [the] freedom to express themselves to the world,” explained Matlabi.

From Tehran to Kashan and the lake of Urmia in the northwest of Iran, the documentary gives a new image of Iran that is far from the usually discussed nuclear issues and political negotiations.

“Focus Iran tried to avoid the negative aspects of Iran and mostly focused on the artist’s beautiful struggles,” Matlabi said. “It is interesting that the staff could get all the permissions to talk with the interviewees and provide a real image of current Iran for their audiences.”

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Arts

Julian Sher on narrating curious stories through documentaries

Workshop series invites students to explore documentary filmmaking

The Department of Journalism held a workshop on Nov. 18 led by Julian Sher, veteran of investigative journalism and former senior producer at the CBC, on making crime and war documentaries.

The workshop was the second of a visual series organized by Francine Pelletier, the department’s journalist-in-resident. The focus of the workshop was on using documentaries to tell stories of unfamiliar persons and nations and demystifying their lives.

Although Sher has been making documentaries for 35 years, he still finds it challenging.

“Every time you do a documentary, you get into this hellish situation in the edit room,” he said, “[where you tell yourself,] ‘This is the worst piece of crap I’ve ever made.’ And then somehow, miraculously, it turns out usually well.”

Sher analyzed three of his TV documentaries during the workshop. The first one was Steven Truscott: His Word Against History. When he was 14 years old, Steven Truscott was convicted of murder and spent 10 years in jail. Thirty years later, in 1999, Sher made a documentary about his story. “I said, ‘Steven, I’m a journalist, I am here to dig for the truth. I’m not here to prove you innocent,’” Sher said. “And [Truscott] said, ‘I have no trouble with that.’”

In 2007, Truscott’s conviction was overturned.

The film starts with scenes from the actual prison where Truscott spent 10 years. “The visuals of the prison are stunning,” Sher said. “It was one of the most — no pun intended — arresting scenes.” The film recreates some scenes from 1959, but Sher said it’s best to avoid recreation, because it would look fake. “Avoid it at all costs,” he said. “And if you have to do it, then do it in a minimalist way,” adding that, in this case, they had no choice but to recreate.

“The music should never tell you what you’re supposed to feel,” he said.

“Music is one of the trickiest things in documentary,” Pelletier added. “One of the most frequent errors is overusing music.”

The second documentary, A Mother’s Ordeal, narrates the story of Brenda Waudby, a mother accused of murdering her toddler. Sher said that to have a story, the character must go on a journey. In other words, they must grow and change over time. The difficulty is that when the documentary is being made, the character is usually at the end of their journey. So, to illustrate the journey, the trick is to ask the character to talk about their story from the beginning to the end.

“So in the pre-interview, when Brenda said ‘I was a bad mother,’ I said, ‘We have a story,’” said Sher. “We take you on a journey too, where you thought she was guilty until the end of the movie.”

The third documentary analyzed was Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear, filmed in Afghanistan. Sher filmed the parts which take place in Kandahar. It was particularly challenging because of what he called the 20-minute rule.

“You can never be outside for longer than 20 minutes. Because that’s when … you could get kidnapped,” Sher said, so he had to make a very detailed list of exactly what shots he needed.

Documentaries that discuss an issue — war in this case — and have no specific protagonist are called issue documentaries. “I hate issue documentaries,” Sher said. “They can be exceedingly boring. They’re a nightmare to make.”

For character-based documentaries, you follow the story of the main character, but for issue documentaries, it can be difficult to know where to start, he explained.

Sher encouraged workshop participants to start making documentaries. “You can do your own filming and put your stuff on YouTube,” he said. “Just keep doing it until you get better.” To make good documentaries, you have to think about what makes you special, Sher said.

“[For example,] you come from a certain community that nobody has access to,” he said. “Or leave Montreal and go somewhere nobody has gone to. Think how you can be a foreign correspondent in a way nobody else could be.”

Pelletier added that there is a huge appetite for documentaries.

“There are documentary film festivals. People want to see documentaries,” she said. “The problem is it’s hard to finance”

“It’s a nightmare,” Sher agreed. “It is really hard to get financing, even when you are an established filmmaker. But don’t give up!”

The workshop was the second in a series of three. The last one will be on Dec. 9 with David Gutnick about radio documentary and podcasting.

 

Photo credit: Julian Sher

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Arts

The culture of memes in society today

Exploring the role memes play in our everyday life

No matter where you look online, memes will appear somewhere. From the most quotable movie lines to funny and controversial moments, nearly everything can be turned into a meme. But, can memes be considered art? And are memes some kind of insight into the truth about how the public truly feels about relevant topics in society?

Why do people love memes so much? According to digital marketing agency and web developers SEO Shark’s website, people tend to gravitate toward using and interacting with memes because they’re “easy to share, they’re funny, audiences relate to them and …  they are topical and timely.” These reasons make memes a nearly essential part of how people interact with the world around them.

The ease of sharing memes is such a selling point because in today’s society, the quicker we access things, the higher the likelihood we will interact with it. Also, it creates a sense of connection because we can freely share memes with whomever we choose. The humour is also another element that lends itself well to meme interaction. A lot of the time, we want something that will make us laugh, and memes do that easily. So, it becomes a way for us to get that enjoyment that we crave.

When it comes to memes being topical and timely, this touches on whether or not they can be a source of truth. Often, there is a mocking tone, reminiscent of the fools in Shakespeare’s plays. The fool or the jester was able to make relevant critiques without having to face the consequences of it because they are humorous. In many ways, memes tend to play the same role. They are calling out something relevant in society, but people tend to take them in a tongue-in-cheek fashion, yet the commentary the meme is making is still impactful.

Memes are a visual medium, which begs the question as to whether or not memes can be considered art. In many ways, the answer is dependent on how one chooses to define art. 

I asked the members of a private facebook group called ‘90 Day Fiancé TV Show Uncensored,’   “Do you think memes should be seen as art?” 81 per cent of respondents said no. This outcome is not surprising as memes can be seen as lesser because anyone can make them. Also, people tend to associate the term art with a lot of skill. In many ways, memes can be seen as fun, but not that they take the same skill as an artist doing a painting. However, if art is being defined as a form of creative expression, then memes would absolutely be seen as art. Perhaps, through the ways memes are being used, the way we define art might expand to include this medium.

2020 has been a difficult year to say the least, and many memes have made a presence that discuss the year we are living in.

This meme, which discusses how 2020 will be perceived in the future, is an amalgamation of many older, popular memes. Aside from being humorous, it allows people to remember what made us laugh so often in the past. In many ways, it seems like 2020 has been a never ending cycle of stuff happening. This meme casts light on all of that, making it relevant.

Memes can also serve as a form of political commentary. During this year’s American presidential debate, there was a lot of talk about who has been making money off Russia. The debate in general was a bit of a mess, and this meme, featuring Spider-Man pointing to himself, captures the back and forth perfectly. This Spider-Man meme has been used many times, in many instances, and to use it here highlights how versatile memes are. It also suggests, at least within the confines of this topic, that Biden and Trump are just mirrors of one another. This meme is calling out the political sphere in a way that reaches the masses.

Memes are such a staple in our culture. They are not going to go away because they stay relevant with the times. They are a social commentary on situations that have gone through the court of public opinion. In a lot of ways, memes can actually be an indication of what people deem as newsworthy.

Personally, I think that memes should be taken more seriously than they are. I think that their accessibility makes them undervalued, but I believe that is exactly why they should be seen as more. As someone who views art as ever changing, I think memes have a place in the art world. I look at memes daily, share them with my husband, and we laugh so much. During the time we are in, I think memes are especially relevant. We need access to various forms of entertainment and art, and perhaps memes are the best way to gain access to these things.

Whether you like memes or not, they aren’t going anywhere, and I think with time people will take them more seriously.

 

Graphic by @ariannasivira

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Arts

MENA 2020: diverse narratives, cultures and perspectives

Sharing the works of filmmakers of the Middle Eastern and North African diaspora

The 2020 edition of the Middle East and North African (MENA) Film Festival is taking place online until Nov. 27 and offers a variety of works by filmmakers from the Middle Eastern and North African diaspora. The virtual film festival offers the public a chance to discover films that shed light on a variety of cultures, diverse dialogues and stories.

This year, MENA presents 20 short films and three feature films. Comedy, documentary, experimental films and more have been included in the film festival’s programming.

The festival offers a variety of works, providing a space for the voices of artists that are a part of Middle Eastern and North African communities. MENA also aims to provide a place for emerging artists and new voices to share their work and create a welcoming space for various dialogues.

My Dream Goes All the Way to Iran (2019), directed by Negar Mojtahedi, documents the stories of six Iranian-Canadians sharing the most painful and beautiful moments of their journeys from Iran to Canada. The film is a powerful portrait of the Iranian expatriate, portraying an immigrant population that is often misunderstood and misrepresented. The movie depicts the realities that refugees and immigrants face, uprooting their lives for a hopeful future.

Directed by Franco-Tunisian director and writer Manele Labidi, Arab Blues (2019) tells the story of psychoanalyst Selma (Golshifteh Farahani) who comes back to Tunis after living in France for 10 years. Selma has decided to set her practice as a shrink in Tunis, which is seen as a skeptical practice in the capital of Tunisia. Presented as a comedy, Arab Blues opens a window into modern Tunisia but also presents cultural clashes in a humorous form.

Amphitheater (2019) by Qatari filmmaker Mahdi Ali Ali, tells the story of a photographer named Sarah who follows a rebellious girl in her hideout: an amphitheater. Sarah is intrigued by the girl’s behavior and captures her in candid portraits.

There is also the coming-of-age film from Lebanese director Oualid Mouaness, 1982 (2019), which depicts 11-year-old Wissam, who is determined to confess his love to his classmate Joanna on the last day of school. Meanwhile, school teacher Yasmine, alongside other teachers, try to mask their fears as many are on different sides of the political divide. The story is set during the beginning of the 1982 Lebanon War.

Voice of Silence (2016) by Iranian director Panahbarkhoda Rezaee is a documentary narrative that tells, through a photographer’s lens, the story of the Iran-Iraq war that lasted from 1980 to 1988. The movie gives a voice to the victims of the war.

MENA offers the chance for the public to engage with a variety of works coming from different places in the Middle East and North Africa. This is a great opportunity to get to know the various stories and perspectives of Middle Eastern and North African filmmakers.

Many events happen in the Middle East and North Africa that tend to be less spoken of in Canada and the virtual film festival is a great place to experience the different realities lived in these areas and authentic Middle Eastern and North African works.

The virtual film festival serves as a cultural experience where walls are broken down and different dialogues are presented in space, without geographical divides. MENA serves to celebrate the many cultures present in the world and share stories that tend to be less known.

The MENA Film Festival is on until Nov. 27. Tickets are sold online.  Viewers can obtain a pass for full virtual screenings for $40, giving the opportunity to the audience to see as much as they want, and individual passes for $10 each.

Categories
Arts

“Exploring Nature” at Montreal’s International Documentary Festival

RIDM’s 23rd edition showcases some of the best nature documentaries from the past year

The Montreal International Documentary Festival (RIDM) kicked off its 23rd edition on Nov. 12, allowing filmgoers the opportunity to screen a wide variety of documentaries from the comfort of their own homes. The 2020 festival showcases some of the best documentaries from the past year and boasts a wide selection from all over the globe.

This year’s festival is divided into eight thematic categories, each available for a period of seven days. Among the first sections available for screening is “Exploring Nature,” an assortment of films about the environment and our complicated relationship with it. Here are just a few of the nature docs that caught my eye!

Watch The Concordian’s interview with Bruno Dequen, RIDM artistic director below.

Cenote (dir. Kaori Oda, Mexico/Japan, 2019)

Despite its presence at RIDM, Cenote is far from a conventional documentary. Director Kaori Oda is even reluctant to label her latest feature a film, instead referring to it as an “experimental documentary.” With its swirling, often disorienting camera work and its hypnotic auditory cues, “experimental” is certainly an apt descriptor, as Cenote is more akin to a sensory experience than anything else.

As its title suggests, the film examines cenotes; deep, natural sinkholes formed by collapsed limestone. Armed with an 8mm camera and an iPhone X, the Japanese filmmaker travels to Yucatan, Mexico to document the land’s many cavernous pits and explore their ties to the ancient Maya civilization. Opening text explains that Mayans saw cenotes as spaces of great spirituality, areas that connected present life with the afterlife. Ritualistic offerings in the form of human sacrifice were habitually presented to the Rain God Chaac, who Mayans believed lived at the bottom of the cenotes. Given this information, the cenotes develop an air of intrigue and Oda’s dreamlike and indistinct imagery paints them as something otherworldly and mythical.

 

Stray (dir. Elizabeth Lo, United States, 2020)

Stray opens to a quote by Greek philosopher Diogenes of Sinope which tells us that “Human beings…would do well to study the dog.” If unconvinced by this statement, one would only need to sit through the next 72 minutes to realize that there is indeed a lot to learn.

Stray documents the lives of several dogs living in the streets of Istanbul and Turkey, primarily focusing on a hazel-eyed canine named Zeytin. Zeytin wanders through the city in search of food and shelter, encountering numerous other strays and passersby along the way. Eventually, she is “adopted” by a group of teenage vagrants, all refugees living in similarly poor conditions.

What’s particularly striking about Lo’s film is how instantaneously we become invested in the plight of the animals. Stray appeals to our empathy at a very instinctual level; it doesn’t require any frills or embellishments to evoke an emotional response from its viewers.

As Zeytin roams the streets, she sees crowds gathered in protest, a couple arguing on a restaurant terrace, homeless men keeping warm by a barrel fire. She stares attentively. How much does she really understand? While the animal world lacks many of the intricacies of the human world, the film shows us that there is in fact a significant overlap found in our shared compassion, curiosity and desire for companionship.

 

Jiíbie (dir. Laura Huertas Millán, Colombia/France, 2019)

Jiíbie is a medium-length documentary that examines the cultivation and production of coca powder in the Amazonian community of Muina-Murui. Immediately, the film makes its purpose clear; “This is not a movie about cocaine,” a title card reads. For its many centuries of spiritual and ritualistic use by the native people of America, the coca plant cannot shake its reputation as the raw material from which the narcotic is extracted.

Jiíbie aims to dispel the many misconceptions associated with the plant by showing us the reverence it holds within these communities. In intimate detail, we watch as the Indigenous people of the Amazon crush, burn and mash the coca leaf into powder for spiritual purposes, all while listening to local stories and myths centered around the plant.

While it might not rid the leaf of its negative connotations, Jiíbie is still a powerful educational tool and a fascinating insight into the world of coca powder production.

 

Icemeltland Park (dir. Liliana Colombo, United Kingdom/Italy, 2020)

In a far-off future, nature is exploited to the point of no return. Unrestrained industrialization has led to the creation of an amusement park where attendees can watch the environment decay in real time. Sounds scary, right? This is the inventive premise behind Icemeltland Park, and sadly, Liliana Colombo’s dystopian vision is far too realistic for comfort. Colombo’s darkly satirical take on climate change takes us on a guided tour across the world to watch glaciers melt as part of a hypothetical theme park attraction.

The film is composed almost entirely of iPhone footage pulled from YouTube and runs with its clever framing device all the way to the very end. Included are “commercial breaks” and popup text that orders viewers to “please keep recording” despite the potential danger and implications of the horrific events unfolding. It’s a film that speaks to our indifference and general apathy towards climate change and how greed and spectacle triumph over the environment. Icemeltland Park ends with a foreboding warning that more natural catastrophes will come at the hands of climate change. An ominous message, but a necessary one, nonetheless.

The Montreal International Documentary Festival runs from now until Dec. 2. For more details including tickets and programming, please visit their website.

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