screening – The Concordian

Concordia’s Moving Image Arts Collective organized a completely sold-out screening of student films.

On Sept. 15, as the penultimate event of FASA Fest, students gathered in the VA building auditorium to watch a selection of student work that varied widely in aesthetic and approach. At full capacity, this screening had the largest turn-out of any MIA event so far.

The Moving Image Arts Collective (MIA) is a student organization funded by Concordia’s Fine Arts Student Alliance (FASA) that aims to build a community of film enthusiasts within the university. Through their screenings and roundtable events, MIA offers opportunities for students to present their completed or in-progress work to their peers, gain invaluable feedback, and forge connections that lead to collaboration.

A highlight of the event was the persona of Elvis Presley acting as the moderator—a presence that truly enlivened the energy of the space. In an art world that can often be characterized as stuffy, serious and pretentious, this generous degree of playfulness and comic relief offered a refreshingly light atmosphere.

The range of filmmaking styles included in the screening showcased the brilliance and creativity of Concordia’s fine arts students. The films shown were both independently-produced and affiliated with course assignments. All of them stood as testaments to the unique vision of each filmmaker and their dedication to quality work.

MIA film screening, VA 323. Photo By Emma Bell / The Concordian.

The screening opened with an emotional and captivating poetic monologue piece on the precarity of pursuing one’s passion as relationships slip away to time. As the line-up progressed, a few recurring themes emerged that would transcend through many of the films: self-discovery through a sense of loss—be that the loss of childhood, homeland or family members—or through transgression, exploration and dreaming.

A home video sourced from family archives told a nostalgic coming-of-age story; an irreverent documentary charted the mission of three roommates to gain roof access through a portal in the ceiling; a disturbingly corporeal claymation toyed with the limits of intimacy between partners. The threads of identity and investigation weaved through all of the pictures as they followed one another.

The event did not include a discussion or Q&A with the filmmakers—a choice that stole the opportunity to hear more from the artists on their motivations and process. Rather, the audience followed Elvis to a karaoke night complete with a raffle and snacks to Concordia’s campus bar, Reggies.

Elvis impersonator singing karaoke at Reggies bar. Photo By Emma Bell / The Concordian

Stay tuned for more FASA and MIA events and opportunities through their Instagram accounts: @fasalovesyou and @movingimagearts.

First screening of the mini web-series Léo au féminin

The mini web-series Léo au féminin premiered on Feb. 21 in a full room, brimming with excited people, at La Tulipe on Papineau Ave. The evening was dedicated to featuring the first four episodes of the ten-episode web series. The series centers around the tribulations, anxieties and health concerns of a young CEGEP student named Léo and her friends.

Co-director and screenwriter Éléonore Delvaux-Beaudoin recounted being inspired by her personal life to create this auto-fiction. She was studying in CEGEP when she pitched the idea as a short film to her friend and classmate Catherine Quesnel. The pair decided to turn it into a mini web-series, recruiting some of their classmates and friends in the process.

“We realized the strong link we had while writing,” said Quesnel. “It’s an auto-fiction we wrote together, but it’s mostly based on Éléonore’s life and I really immersed myself in her world.”

Delvaux-Beaudoin shared her experience of living with an invisible disability, something rarely portrayed in cinematography. She has several life-threatening food allergies and shared that, a few years ago, she almost died because of them.

“Catherine and I also wanted to show the mental pain that comes with these invisible disabilities,” said Delvaux-Beaudoin. “We don’t realize that people with these autoimmune diseases live in a state of constant fear: a fear of eating, touching, sharing, kissing.”

The subject was treated in a subtle way, which captured its complexity with finesse despite the episodes being short. Each episode contains a sequence focused on a meal, showing the anxiety that Léo experiences around food because of her allergies.

In addition to these explicit scenes, details that seem insignificant at first become more important when we notice the seriousness of the character’s allergies. Examples include when she has to remind her boyfriend to brush his teeth before kissing, or when she scrutinizes food labels.

The series also touches on queer relationships, open and non-monogamous relationships and love in all its forms. After being bombarded with classic rom-coms by Netflix during the Valentine’s Day season, this series created by young people for young people is a breath of fresh air with its very realistic and wholesome portrayal of relationships.

For co-producer Lu-Sergei Denaud, showing queer relationships and queer joy on screen was an important aim in the production. They pointed out that traditional TV in Quebec rarely portrays queer stories in a good light and that Léo au féminin aimed at showing both the complexity and beauty of queerness.

“I think that this series also serves to show that we are a more open generation, that we are freeing ourselves little by little from the heteronormative confines,” said Denaud. “I find that with Léo au féminin I can finally say, and I hope that our generation will be able to say, ‘finally, I see myself’”.

Despite the fast pace of the mini-series format, the scenes never seem forced. While featuring the usual topics found in coming-of-age dramas, this take on youth felt refreshing.

Set in Montreal with a cast of CEGEP students and created with a very minimal budget, the series gives a more realistic vision of transition into adulthood without falling into classic tropes of teen movies, all while maintaining a poetic fiber.

Léo au féminin delves into Gen-Z themes beyond traditional coming-of-age stories. Léo, for instance, spends a whole dinner explaining to an older person what the LGBTQ+ acronym means, has panic attacks in her workplace or even spends $300 to adopt a cat.

The production is now working on finding a platform to host the series which will come out in a few months. You can follow Léo au féminin here.