Category: Arts

Categories
Arts

Laundry, taxes and googly eyes: frontrunners for the Oscars

Graphic, James Fay/The Concordian

The film Everything, Everywhere All at Once received 11 Oscar nominations, making the film the frontrunner for the upcoming Academy Awards

Everything, Everywhere All at Once is the frontrunner for the 2023 Academy Awards, the film received 11 nominations, four of which in the big five categories: best picture, best director, best screenplay and best lead actress.

The 2023 ceremony marks a historic year for Asian actors, with four receiving nominations — the most in the history of the award show. Everything, Everywhere All at Once actress Michelle Yeoh received a lead actress nomination for her role as Evelyn Wang and, if she were to win the Oscar, she would be the first Asian actress to do so. 

She shared her feelings on the nomination in an interview with The New York Times. “Of course, I’m over the moon, but I feel a little sad because I know we know there have been amazing actresses from Asia that come before me, and I stand on their shoulders,” she said.

Three more Everything, Everywhere All at Once actors received nominations: Stephanie Hsu and Jamie Lee Curtis for best supporting actress and Ke Huy Quan for best supporting actor.

Yeoh shared her experience working with Quan on the Los Angeles Times’ podcast The Envelope. “Before ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ came out, there weren’t even stories like this that were told. So I am very proud of Ke. He saw the opportunity and he ran for it. But what I’m saying is: Give us more opportunities.”

The film — written and directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert —  premiered at the South by Southwest Film Festival (SXSW) on March 11, 2022 and released in the United States on April 8, 2022. 

Everything, Everywhere All at Once follows the story of Evelyn Wang, a laundromat owner, who is visited by a version of her husband Waymond Wang, played by Quan, who needs her help to save the multiverse. However, at the core of the bright colours, googly eyes and elaborate costumes is a story of love, family and acceptance.  

The languages spoken in the film switch between Mandarin, English and Cantonese. “It is very confusing when you are watching it at the beginning, but we wanted you to feel that. We wanted you to step into what is a real representation of what an Asian immigrant family would be at home,” said Yeoh on The Envelope.  

Everything, Everywhere All at Once received almost universal acclaim and is already doing well this awards season, with Yeoh and Quan having already won Golden Globes for their performances. 

Quan’s emotional acceptance speech pulled on many heartstrings, with him thanking Steven Spielberg for giving him his first role as a child actor in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. He shared how he long felt it was impossible to surpass his childhood accomplishments, and thanked Kwan and Scheinert for giving him “an opportunity to try again.”

The 2023 Academy Awards, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, will air on March 12 at 8 p.m.

Categories
Arts

Love in the Modern age

Concordia student-run magazine launches love-themed poetry reading at Le Frigo Vert

On Feb. 9, the Concordia student-run pixie Literary Magazine and Soliloquies Anthology united to launch a poetry reading event on the topic of love, with the goal of expressing the understanding of love and its different forms.

Julia Bifulco, the founder and editor-in-chief of pixie indicated that her motive for doing the topic on love is the search for the meaning of the word love.

Bifulco was inspired by Canadian author Margaret Atwood’s poem “Variations on the Word Love.” She realized that people use the word love more than we used to. “But really, love is supposed to be the utmost passion that you can feel for something,” she said.

Modern love tends to evolve much more rapidly than it used to. With the flood of dating apps, love seems to be everywhere.

Bifulco recalled a conversation about dating apps that she had with her friend. “She told me that she doesn’t like dating apps because of the lack of power to converse, and it really makes me think about connections.”

The idea of trending on dating apps ties to some contemporary poetry. “Like trendy and instagram poetry,” Bifulco said. “Some of them are very desired, quick and easily digestible.” 

With the great belief that contemporary poetry seeks to create a new poetic movement, Bifulco uses the word “Groundbreaking” to describe the young creative writers. “I hope people that are writing now are writing new fresh things,” she said. “The writing era we are living in is something that’s looked back on is iconic in the way the romantic period is.”

Jade Palmer, co-editor-in-chief of Soliloquies Anthology, referenced a poem the magazine published last year as an example of contemporary love. “The poem used a lot of chat-speak, things like ‘lol’ that you would not normally hear in a poem — that’s so based in our time. It’s such an interesting way to express love rather than saying someone looks like a flower.”

Ribs Beauchamp was one of the presenters at Thursday evening’s event. She is a third-year Concordia student majoring in film studies. “The media makes more types of love accessible, and it makes it easier to share and witness and recognize and talk about,” she said.

The theme of the poem she shared was her mother. “Female love is much different than male love, and that’s one of the biggest reasons my poem is about my mom,” Beauchamp said. “It is because she shares her love and she is not afraid to do it, women are raised as caretakers — it’s a lot easier for us to share love.”

Categories
Arts

Street photography in Montreal

Photo by Marta Malvina MOSTARDINI

Wandering around the city to discover January in Montreal

Photo by Marta Malvina MOSTARDINI

A man smokes a cigar outside of Buanderie Albert, a laundromat service shop on Saint-Catherine St W., as he enjoys the sun and occasionally feeds some pigeons.

Photo by Marta Malvina MOSTARDINI

Geometry and symmetry at Angrignon metro station, located at the end of the green line in southwest Montreal. Its wide windows and red frames give it an enchanting atmosphere that makes you wander around it and utterly forget the purpose of your destination.

Photo by Marta Malvina MOSTARDINI

Between the Lionel-Groulx metro station and the Atwater Market, there is an alley that is always lit by a ceiling light. On the morning of Jan. 25, a young worker carries soft drinks in an unknown shop. 

Photo by Marta Malvina MOSTARDINI

A weighted cart clustered by items sits outside Tim Hortons on Notre Dame St. W. on the morning of Jan. 25.

Photo by Marta Malvina MOSTARDINI

Caroline Hout writes her name on my agenda as she tells me about her portaiture being shown at Berri-UQAM metro station by Parc Emily. Caroline wears bright clothes and makeup to brighten up the day for the people who notice her. She is known as “Caroline Unicorn” because of her unicorn headband. 

Photo by Marta Malvina MOSTARDINI

Musicians Tyne Caine and Charles Viguerie improvise a guitar-violin duet in the metro station at Place des Arts. Both came to Montreal for the music scene and the possibility to grow as musicians. Tyne is from Vancouver and Charles is from the USA.

Photo by Marta Malvina MOSTARDINI

A man follows the lights through a tunnel to Peel metro station.

Photo by Marta Malvina MOSTARDINI

An STM worker plays the ukulele at Verdun metro station, hiding from the sight of people passing by.

Photo by Marta Malvina MOSTARDINI

A peek inside Le Petit Dep on Saint-Paul St. W, Montreal.

Photo by Marta Malvina MOSTARDINI

A snowboarder slides down a stair railing in Parc la Fontaine the day after the opening of the Dillon Ojo track park in Montreal. He and his friends drove from Ontario for the opening of the second season of the Dillon Ojo Snowpark and spent the weekend snowboarding around the city.

Categories
Arts Exhibit

[espace variable | placeholder]: experience art in a post-pandemic flux

La Centrale - Courtesy Photos

Concordia students and alumni open a new online art exhibit in regards to adapting to a world affected by COVID-19

La Centrale galerie Powerhouse hosted the vernissage of their new exhibit [espace variable | placeholder] on the evening of Feb. 2. The online gallery was created, in part, as a statement that the world of art has shifted to the internet. 

It was created out of inspiration from a term coined by sociologist Ray Oldenburg: the third place. Third places are the spaces where people can spend time in between their first place (home) and second place (work). As of recently, the world’s third place is the internet.

The exhibit is divided into four categories: Read, Observe, Listen, and Interact. 

La Centrale Courtesy Photo

Read, the first category presents texts reflecting artists’ experiences involving themes pertaining to third places, place-making, technological presence, and artistic subversion. 

Observe, the second category, displays the interdisciplinary approach to the concept of placeholding. 

Listen, the third category, involves audible artwork alluding to memory, transmission and reciprocity. 

La Centrale Courtesy Photo

Interact, the last, is a space which provides literature for readers to further their understanding and research of third places.

This exhibit explores navigation through third places as well as artists’ “(re)telling” of stories about finding a voice, or making a place, of those who have been demeaned by racial injustice.

One of the installations at the vernissage was from artist-in-residence rudi aker of the Byte-sized Sound Creation Residency. “This work, a bird in the hand, is what feels most appropriate to share with a larger public from those recorded conversations,” explains aker in their artist statement. The audio piece is “a move to safeguard our personal and familial histories from the often prying and exploitative consumption of Indigenous oral histories.”

La Centrale Courtesy Photo

My Little thingliness (SCRUB-A-DUB-DUB-BEBOP), another creation presented at the vernissage, is a spoken-word/sound immersion performance written and performed by Faith Paré. The piece thrashes you into the world of generational forced labour and abuse that Black women succumb to in order to survive white supremacist society. Because of this, Black women of today have the choice and opportunity to work with their minds instead of their hands.

Art history and studio arts major at Concordia India-Lynn Upshaw-Ruffner was the Artistic and Community Alliances Coordinator of [espace variable | placeholder] for some time. Through La Centrale, Upshaw-Ruffner met the Publications and Communications Coordinator Lital Khaikin.

During the creative progress of [espace variable | placeholder], the two developers contacted Paré, who Upshaw-Ruffner had discovered through a project she did at Concordia. Paré knew rudi aker through a class that they took together as well. The [espace variable | placeholder] ex-coordinator met rudi aker through a class on indigenous curatorial methodologies they had together. It goes to show that networking at school is important!

If you want to frequent an art exhibit but hate walking, you can now experience it from your own home. Click here. To access La Centrale Galerie Powerhouse’s website, Click here.

Categories
Arts Exhibit

Exhibition review: Montreal printmaking artist’s life path

Death of the Cyclist - Photo by Jiawei HONG

The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts displays 30 remarkable artworks from Albert Dumouchel, representing the evolution of his art style throughout his career

“Printing remains a simple, Austere Language– As I have often said, it’s like chamber music” – Albert Dumouchel.

Albert Dumouchel (1916-71) was a Montreal printmaking artist. He met London artist James Lowe in 1940, which inspired the start of his printmaking career.

An exhibition in honour of the late artist is located on the second floor of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, surrounded by white walls. The room is lit in a warm tone, dimmer than the lobby but matches the tone of the artist’s featured works. This exhibition displays 30 of his prints from the 1940s to the 1960s. His printmaking has been influenced by the development of art in many other countries.

In 1942, Dumouchel’s artwork “Pietà” marked the beginning of his journey. Unlike the traditional drypoint technique, in which an image is drawn on the plate with a sharp needle-like tool. Dumouchel decided to carve his images into a sheet of transparent plastic. “Pietà” demonstrated a picture of the Virgin Mary mourning the death of her son. 

Although the overall lines of this piece are rough, the painted appearance on Mary’s face expresses strong emotions. The sharp white shapes in the background form a strong contrast with the surrounding dark round shapes, enhancing the viewer’s visual senses. His spiritual expression laid the groundwork for the later transformation of his artistic style.

In the late 1940s, Dumouchel turned towards surrealism, expressing external reality through his own psychological and poetic imagination. In “The Banners in the Night,” 1958, he used etching to show the technical improvement. Each line in the work flows naturally, twisting together to create the changeable forms of the wind.

In 1965, with the ascent of the Pop Art movement in North America, Dumouchel returned to figurative form in 1965. One remarkable technique he used was lithography. This technique was used in his piece “La mort de la cycliste” (The Death of the Cyclist), presenting his art in a completely new way.

Dumouchel returned to carving, making woodcuts late in his career, like his piece called “L’Horrible chat des neiges” (The Horrible Snow Cat).The penetrating gaze of the cat is what makes the work memorable. Referring to his earlier works, he has a talent of using minimal backgrounds to enhance the expression of the main subject’s manner.

Throughout this artist’s experience in printmaking, much of his inspiration has come from other cultures. “When I think of this artist, or any other artist, I would just think of his expression of art,” says one of the visitors. “Anything could be the inspiration, like what you learned and what you experienced.”

Categories
Arts

Glass Onion and the pellucid greed of the one percent

Header Glass Onion Courtesy

Netflix’s newest mystery film includes some interesting class commentary, but it doesn’t live up to its predecessor

Glass Onion, the sequel to the 2019 murder-mystery Knives Out, is making the rounds after a limited-theatre run and a Netflix release at the end of December. It follows the same skeleton as its predecessor — the detective Benoit Blanc, played by Daniel Craig, investigates a murder amongst a group of out-of-touch rich people, only this time it takes place on a billionaire’s private island in the middle of the pandemic.

It continues the current trend of criticizing the upper class, seen in HBO’s The White Lotus and Palme d’Or winner Triangle of Sadness. This criticism, not entirely new, has recently been reignited due to the rising cost of living and post-pandemic inflation.

Glass Onion Courtesy

The film starts with the billionaire Miles Bron, played by Edward Norton, sending all his friends a box of riddles. Upon solving, the box opens to reveal an invitation to a murder-mystery party held on his private island, reminiscent of Kim Kardashian’s controversial birthday party at the height of COVID-19. On the way to the island, the friend group meets Benoit Blanc and a woman named Andi, played by Janelle Monáe, who is revealed to be the true brains behind Bron’s company Alpha.

Glass Onion is not a bad film — it currently has a critics score of 92 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. However,  it does fall short of the greatness of its predecessor. This difference in quality leads to an underwhelming yet enjoyable movie-watching experience that would be reduced had Glass Onion been a stand-alone film. 

Courtesy Glass Onion

The glass onion, which stands tall at the centre of Miles Bron’s island, is used as a metaphor to criticize the characters’ wealth and belief systems. Whereas an onion demands you peel away at its layers to reveal the centre, one can look right through glass with no effort. The character of Miles Bron is portrayed by the media as being a genius businessman and a true visionary, when he is, in fact, a fraud who is only rich and successful because of someone else’s idea. He is nowhere near as intelligent, complex, or disruptive as he pretends to be. He is a glass onion.

Bron calls himself and his friends disruptors, for he believes that they challenge norms and are brave and successful for doing so. However, in reality, they are upholding the status quo. There is nothing disruptive about being a corrupt politician, like Katheryn Hahn’s character Claire, or upholding patriarchal gender ideals, like Dave Bautista’s character Duke Cody. Their success is  due to the fact that they prioritize the power, influence and money of being friends with a man like Miles Bron over doing what is right. They are all, as Monáe’s character puts it, “holding on for dear life to Miles Bron’s golden titties.”

Netflix has already purchased the rights to a third film in the franchise, so this is not the end of Benoit Blanc.

Categories
Arts Exhibit

Habitat Sonore — an immersive audio experience at PHI Centre

Habitat Sonore Exhibit at Phi Centre - Courtesy by Julien GRIMARD

Old Montreal’s avant-garde multipurpose arts and culture venue invites you to “tune out the everyday noise and lose yourself in Montréal’s new immersive listening room” until Jan. 29

Habitat Sonore, which “consists of a 16 speaker multichannel array powered by a high-end JBL pre-processor,” has a daily rotation of soundtracks played in its singular room. On the first day, I listened to 64 minutes of a neo-classical piano soundtrack by Canadian platinum pianist Alexandra Strélinski. 

As I was led down a neat concrete basement staircase, through a purple printed door and finally past a black felt curtain at the end of a dim carpeted hallway, I was instructed to throw myself onto any cushy bean bag chair of my choosing. I waited in a dark soundproofed room solely lit by magenta LED strips, which pulsated a hypnotising glow scaling the chamber horizontally. An ambient melody surrounded and greeted me — one I would put on to meditate. Soon enough, I was sent to a different universe.

Habitat Sonore Exhibit at Phi Centre – Courtesy by Julien GRIMARD

Radiating from every corner of the chamber was music that would be a pleasure to have alongside while studying, meditating or falling asleep: pure tranquillity and serenity. It was music that you could find in a cute short student film that pays homage to Wes Anderson. 

Inscape by Strélinski was the first album to be played. Each song brought a different mood. Sometimes cheeky, pensive, desolate, but never disruptive. 

Pianoscope was the second album of hers played through, and it gave pondering 19th century steam-punk villain vibes. Restful nonetheless.

The next day I listened to the second program of three, which consisted of a few different works each by a plethora of artists, totaling nearly an hour. 

Better in the Shade by Polaris Music Award winner Patrick Watson and his bandmate Mishka Stein. The alternative EP felt — in the best way I could put it — sort of low-fi psychedelic experimental. The duo of ASMR vocals and wispy percussion was the seed for melancholy throughout the playthrough. 

Next was a meditative piece by Debbie Doe called Theatre of Dreams. It was a cacophony of sounds traveling from one end of the room to the other, all blending together forming a narrative that one can only interpret using their own imagination. From mystical chiming to macabre droning, and even a demonic cackle, the piece satisfied all my expectations when walking into a sound room such as this. 

Finally, Grammy-winning mixer James Benjamin’s Rainforest enchanted me and cleansed me of all of my worries for the duration of its runtime. The room was transported deep into an unknown jungle, with creatures chirping and predators hunting. Sometimes I could hear a leaf crunching in front of me, or the passing over of a distant airplane, maybe a gunshot from behind, maybe the howling of a monkey to the left of me. For the most part, it was the most therapeutic lullabying experience I could imagine. Rain hitting the rooftop back at home would be of no match to it. 

A great experience, and incredibly relaxing. If I could sit in that beanbag chair until Jan. 29, I would.

Categories
Arts Festival

Pushing the limits: The Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour

A Baffin Vacation - Courtesy Photo by Sarah McNair-Landry

The Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour comes to Montreal

The 27th edition of the Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour came to Montreal this year from Jan. 18 to Jan. 21, offering a selection of films from jaw-dropping to heartbreaking. 

Tickets were completely sold out, as people were excited for the festival to be back in-person.

Out of a record submission rate of 453 films, the festival chose ten. 

Every film ranged from five to 45 minutes. The whole evening lasted for three hours. 

Colors of Mexico – Courtesy Picture

The first film, Colors of Mexico by Kilian Bron, featured a mountain biker riding the vibrant streets. The filmmaker played with shapes through architectural angles,  accentuating the beauty of the scenery and the danger of the sport. 

Courtesy Picture of Doo Sar Film – Bartek Pawlikowski
Courtesy Picture of Doo Sar Film – Kuba Gzela

Doo Sar: A Karakoram Ski Expedition film showcased breathtaking footage from the Karakoram mountain range, located in the Kashmir region, featuring Polish duo Andrzej Bargiel and Jędrek Baranowski, who ice climbed to the peak in 12 hours, to then descend in 90 minutes. 

Walking on Clouds -Courtesy Picture by Claudino JUNIOR

The short Walking on Clouds showed record-breaking highline athlete Rafael Bridi walking between two hot air balloons. The elegance of his movements and the perfect balance of his core seemed almost inconceivable. 

The film was poetic and stress-inducing enough to have the audience sitting on the edge of their seats as the highline trembled under Bridi’s weight. 

The 45-minute-long To the Hills and Back – Know Before You Go proposed a preventative approach to ultimate sports, narrating two storylines of adventurers having lost their loved ones in avalanches. 

The fast-paced editing did not leave much to the imagination, as the audience was propelled into the story. It warns that accidents are frequent. 

The Process – Courtesy Photo by Matt HARDY

The Process, drenched in irony, follows mountaineer Tom Randall, seeking to complete a mountain running challenge over 42 peaks and across 142 kilometers in less than 24 hours. He humors taking on the challenge as a non-runner. 

Flow – Courtesy Picture by Maxime MOULIN

Flow, follows skier Sam Favret, who decided to hike up a French Alpine resort during confinement, to enjoy the bare slopes. The ungraded slopes permitted breathtaking footage. 

Clean Mountains – Courtesy Picture by Mingma C.

Clean Mountains counts the tourist pollution on Everest from a Sherpa’s perspective, as one woman decides to climb Everest and while descending clears the mountain of tourist waste. 

Her father had lost his fingers helping a client tie his ice crampons, impeding him from continuing to work. His experience burdened the family and exposed the harm of unprepared tourists on Everest. 

North Shore Betty – Courtesy Picture by Travis RUMMEL

North Shore Betty teaches the possibility of starting a new sport at any age. At 45, Betty took up mountain biking. On screen, she was 73. 

A Baffin Vacation – Courtesy Picture by Erik BOOMER

A Baffin Vacation trailered a couple on the struggles of ultimate sports on the body and mind. They comically preface their story by ridiculing their experience on the brawling effects of canoeing and mountain climbing. 

Do A Wheelie – Courtesy Picture by Danny MAcASKILLS

The light short Do a Wheelie concluded the festival positively, showing that ultimate sports weave communities together. 

The international documentary festival will tour around the province until the end of March.

Categories
Arts

Le roman de monsieur de Molière at the Théâtre du Nouveau Monde: A review

Le Roman de Monsieur Molière au Théâtre du Nouveau Monde - Photo/Yves RENAUD

Between modernism and traditionalism: the constant debate between Corneille and Molière

The theatre adaptation of Mikhaïl Boulgakov’s novel Le roman de monsieur de Molière by the Théâtre du Nouveau Monde comments on the playwright’s chaotic life, and paints a vivid picture of the anxieties of devoting one’s life to being an artist. 

The audience did not need to be an aficionado of Molière to understand the intricacies of the play. 

The newly-restored Théâtre du Nouveau Monde, following the fire that erupted in the building earlier this year, seated 800 people and was nearly full. Most of the audience seated in the orchestra seemed of retired age, while younger people sat in the balcony.  

Though Molière’s life has been profusely copied and reimagined, this performance is contrasted by the unique proximity between the author and Molière. 

The 20th-century Ukrainian author Mikhaïl Boulgakov, much like Molière, was an artist unrecognized for his genius. They were both censured and silenced for their prose, receiving recognition after their deaths. 

Boulgakov plays on this theme in his novel, as is also present throughout the play, standing on the sidelines observing his written work unravel in front of him. Boulgakov’s and Molière’s characters intertwine and untwine themselves to unite and individualize their realities. 

For instance, Boulgakov frequently uses the first-person singular when narrating the play, as if he was himself Molière. While the story unfolds, Boulgakov never leaves the stage: he stays still, as a spectator. 

The audience barely notices him, as his movements are often immobilized by his role as narrator. He uses asides when he notes something specific that cannot be translated into action. 

The two-hour play, without intermission, highlights the continual chaos that surrounded Molière’s life as he was exposed to the pitfalls of wanting to resemble the great Corneille in tragedy, while never receiving the appraisal he thought he merited. 

The show played between themes of modernity and tradition, the former being reflected by Molière and the latter by Corneille. Their rivalry occupied most scenes, and made for a constant battle for mastering words that were both dramatic and entertaining. They played on words taken from their works while inlaying humorous formations as a form of satire. 

Jean de La Fontaine, the 17th-century French poet, was represented as a medium between the two. His character spoke his lines comically, referring to his previous works quite humourisly.

Boulgakov narrated Molière’s life as he acted on stage. This gave the audience a deeper understanding of his inner thoughts. There were short representations taken from his other plays, namely L’écoles des femmes, L’Avare and Tartuffe. 

Molière and his company L’Illustre Thêatre would often play out scenes that foreshadowed the well-known plays that would then be created. For example, when Molière was sick, and his wife Armande responded that no doctor would come to see him because of his work, the audience understood that Le médecin malgré lui had been written. 

The audience could understand the chronology of the story and Molière’s rising fame through costume changes. The dresses of the comedians became fancier and more intricate, and the vest Molière wore went from simple black to polished silver — a symbol of his rising social standing as a comedian who was being acknowledged. 

The first scene mirrors the last, as a bath is used for Molière’s birth and death. 
The show will go on tour across the province beginning Jan. 18.

Categories
Arts

The Salon du Livre de Montréal: a wonderful abode for book lovers

From Nov. 23 to Nov. 27 Montrealers had the privilege to enjoy books from the francophone world

As one entered the Salon du Livre, they were immediately greeted by the Agora, which served to host author interviews and book readings. People were given maps that displayed the names of the publishing houses around the immense space that is the Palais des Congrès.

Despite the venue’s cold appearance, the salon was able to add life to its walls, with colourful posters and shelves of publishers that extended across the broad space. 

The salon occupied the space with colourful tables, couches and plants to give it life, encouraging people to sit and read their new purchases.  

The morning of Sunday, Nov. 27 was buzzing with people, making it hard to move without being pushed, as patrons were wandering aimlessly into the vast world of literature. 

The salon had accessible prices and was free for visitors under 12, it also included spaces reserved for kids. It was clear they wanted to promote reading to a young audience.

On Saturday night, people were exhausted from Black Friday shopping, evident from visitors walking slowly, tired looking writers, and the staff seemed ready for their workday to end.

Authors were seated on odd pedestals in front of their respective publishing houses. When no one came to sign their work, their only distraction was a mere cup of water and their own books. 

The pedestals seemed in no way effective as very few people were having their books signed, unless the writer was someone already well-known. 

The Salon had organized a series of talks with authors.

Expert of Quebecois horror literature Patrick Sénécal gave a hilarious talk presenting his new book Résonances. On that Saturday night, he seemed exhausted, as he answered in a more relaxed cadence than his usual character. 

He discussed how most people think he must be mentally insane to write such disturbing novels, to which he responded “I’m just like everyone else.” 

These series of talks served to humanize authors as people, not idols. Novelist Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette echoed Sénécal’s words, talking about finishing a book: “Once it’s out it belongs to you [the readers].”

She discussed her two recent books, Femme forêt and Femmes fleuve, which distinguish themselves greatly from her previous autobiographical work. Both harbour metaphorical verses, and propose to the reader a storyline following nature’s cycle. 

She noted that these books were the first time her writing did not depict her life specifically: “It’s the first time that this is not about me.”

She discussed her recent film Chien Blanc, noting that film was an interesting avenue in itself, but her preferred medium was writing, and at least in the near future she would stick to that.

She confessed, among other things, the difficulties in finding Romain Gary’s hermit son in the Spanish countryside to obtain the rights to make the novel into a film. 

“Writing is a solitary voyage,” she noted, whereas film involves teamwork and the considerations of different people. 

Wendat journalist Geneviève Pettersen namely spoke about her new book La reine de rien, a sequel from her first novel La Déesse des mouches à feu as an adult. 

She said she wrote a sequel because everyone kept on asking her what had happened to Catherine, the main character, and in her mind, it was obvious that she simply continued living. 

This coming-of-age story, which takes place in Chicoutimi, explored the ease of falling into bad habits and wanting to revolt. It received immense acclaim upon its release in 2021. It was even made into a film directed by the aforementioned Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette. 

Beyond the bookworm aspect of book fairs, the salon had a noticeable commercial aspect to it. The books were not affordable, averaging in the mid-$30 price range. The clear intent was consumerism. Though the principal theme was books, the available seating was not comfortable enough for visitors to be entirely absorbed by a book. Talks that revolved around authors were centered around buying the copy to then get it signed. Not a single person was seen leaving the Salon without a book in hand. 

Salons du Livres happen around the world, on a yearly basis.

Categories
Arts

Pushing The boundaries of the attainable through circus: A photo essay

Tanya Burka on aerial silk - Photo/ VALENTINE ALIBERT

Cabaret de Cirque 2022 at Le Monastère From Nov. 4 to Nov. 12

Le Monastère Cabaret de Cirque is located in the St-Jax Church on St-Catherine, and is two minutes’ walk away from the Sir Geroge William campus of Concordia University. 

Before the show started, the room turned pitch black for a few seconds, with only the faint light from the stained glass church windows being visible. The room was in utter silence, excitement running through the crowd, until the lights flashed blue, and the first act began. 

The performances could be felt quite powerfully, especially from a vantage point high up on the altar. As the music detoned, it resonated through the wooden stage and through our bodies — it felt as if the crowd became actors in the performance. 

Tanya Burka on aerial silk – Photo/ VALENTINE ALIBERT

For the first presentation, aerialist Tanya Burka performed mid-air tricks on aerial silk. Her movements were light and composed. She moved in a way that seemed effortless, with the strength of her arms and core. She wrapped herself slowly, ending on a cascade down; the audience gasped, fearing the silk would not hold her.

Tanya Burka/Aerial Silk – Photo/ VALENTINE ALIBERT


In this second photo, Burka is holding on mid-air, only by the strength of her upper leg and ankle. The colours of the light, matching with her suit, mirror her movement as the audience remained captured by her every movement. 

Johnny Filion EmCee – Photo/ VALENTINE ALIBERT

Emcee Johnny Filionis is playing with balance, a pole held by his mouth is topped by a plate as he juggles two other. The whole affair was quite a spectacle to see, as the level of multitasking was impressive to the audience. 

Filion worked through the show to create a sense of discomfort within the crowd. Circuses ask the audience to interact with performances, pushing people out of their comfort zones.

This performance was set to create a sentiment of unease within the audience, while Filion hardly held his balance, people were on the edge of their seats watching.

Maude Parent/Contortionist – Photo/VALENTINE ALIBERT

The fourth performance showcased Maude Parent, a contortionist, as she demonstrated her extreme physical flexibility, contorting her arms, wrists and back to degrees that seemed almost subhuman. 

Her movements were sometimes pushed so out of the ordinary, that people in the crowd looked away or covered their eyes, waiting for the act to end. 

Despites some movements that disturbed our gaze, the dramatic effect of her contortions kept most of the audience fixated and excited to see what her next movement would be.

Maude Parent/Contortionist, Marton Maderspach/pianist – Photo/VALENTINE ALIBERT

In a later act, Maude Parent comes back to the stage singing, accompanied by Marton Maderspach on the piano. The light fell only on the two of them, while the rest of the large room remained pitch black. Her voice echoed within the heights of the church, resonated within our bodies, producing a sentiment of excitement within the crowd.

Antoine Boissereau/Aerial Straps – Photo/VALENTINE ALIBERT

The last act before the intermission was of Antoine Boissereau with aerial straps. The first part of his performance was the most impressive. As one arm was caught in the strap, it held his whole body, while he performed several figures with extreme precision.

Antoine Boissereau/Aerial Straps – Photo/VALENTINE ALIBERT

His performance was accompanied by heavy techno music and a sharp white light accentuating his body as the audience was fixated in awe.

Laurie Bérubé & Catherine Beaudet/Hand to hand Duo – Photo/VALENTINE ALIBERT

Laurie Bérubé and Catherine Beaudet performed a hand-to-hand duo, moving in synchronicity as their bodies were dispossessed of their natural purposes, serving as balancing grounds for one another. Though each movement was calculated, the ease with which their bodies moved together made the audience feel as if they were moving in complete natural spontaneity. The elevation and rigid balance of their pantomime was breathtaking.

Esteban Immer/Chinese Pole – Photo/VALENTINE ALIBERT

Esteban Immer completed figures on the chinese pole, which was approximately six feet tall. He climbed up, slid down and stopped for figures. His poses showed his incredible strength, whether he was perpendicular to the bar, sliding down from his feet, or rotating his legs around the pole. Sometimes his legs were the only part holding his whole body hanging from the pole.

Emily Chivers/Aerial Rope – Photo/VALENTINE ALIBERT


The last act was by Emily Chilvers on an aerial rope. Intense opera music accompanied her performance, which gave it more power. The lighting for her act was pink, which was much dimmer than the previous ones. As she wrapped herself with velocity, the light sometimes did not catch her movement and she seemed to be a completely separate entity —  as if her own being transcended the performance out of pure passion.

Categories
Arts

Veranada: a secluded gaucho lifestyle threatened by climate change

RIDM 2022 Screening - Photo/Lucia CASSAGNET

Without rain the grass doesn’t grow, and without it the sheep won’t make it through the winter

Veranada is a film highlighting a remote community in the mountains of Argentina. With the summer season coming to an end, the local shepherds have to relocate their flock of sheep, looking for water.

Malargüe, a city in the Argentinian state of Mendoza, is the home of Don Arturo, a lifelong shepherd. His lifestyle and that of a few other gauchos — the Argentinian version of the American cowboy — is threatened by the effects of climate change.

The 2020 rainfall season in the Andes mountains, which separate Argentina and Chile, marked the fifth consecutive year of below-average precipitations. Some hoped that El Niño would bring more wet days, but unfortunately, a dry spell looms ahead.

Without water, the various rivers that slide through the chain of mountains and valleys cannot supply all the communities and ranches.

At the end of the Veranada, the summer season for those who herd animals in the mountains, Don Arturo packed his limited belongings onto his horse and took his sheep someplace else, hoping to find a more suitable location to settle with the animals.

“I didn’t know going there that they were struggling with climate change, I realized very soon that they were. And it was a very big concern to them. Their way of life, as they see it, it’s kind of threatened,” explained producer and director of Veranada, Dominique Chaumont, after the screening of the film at the Montreal International Documentary Festival (RIDM).

Living a life that is as old as the country’s founding days, these gaucho communities have no other method of communication than a radio that is always turned on, transmitting messages between citizens from towns away.

From warnings of storms to seeking employment, to wishing a happy eightieth birthday to a father living in another town, the radio is the only thing that keeps the community connected with the outside world.

In the film, the simple tasks completed by the gauchos on a daily basis are shown through a series of long, patient still shots — some even being several minutes long. The narrative creates an immersive experience of this centuries-old way of living.

Filming in a town that exists outside of modernity brought a set of constraints to the three-people team that consisted of Chaumont’s project.

While working without electricity, living in a tent and navigating the mountains on horseback, the producer and her two companions had to pack wisely and lightly — something that the film’s protagonist does every day.

With only two cameras and two solar panels, they had to turn the cameras on only at specific times to ensure the best use of the battery.

In total, about seven and a half hours of footage were gathered in a span of three weeks, while the filmmakers lived alongside the gauchos, earning their trust.

Chaumont, a native of Mendoza, 300 kilometres away from Malargüe, discovered a way of life that most in her native country don’t even know about. She also discovered what it’s like to live on the brink of extinction.

“That was their concern, and that was their story. And I wanted to tell their story,” she said. 

Exit mobile version