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10th season of Piknic Électronik

Kevin Laforest — Tue, 01 May 2012 19:14:30 +0000

Piknic Électronik will be celebrating its 10th season this summer, with 20 events featuring over 100 acts from May 20 to September 30.

From the press release:

“Those who remember attending the very first Piknic on June 22, 2003, will not want to miss Maus (CA) and Soundshaper (CA) return to the stage this June 24th after 10 years and two days they got the event started!

Likewise, several Sundays this summer will be dedicated to the collectives that are so vital to keeping the local electronic scene thriving, namely Rosé Crew, Booty Bakery, Boomclap Soundcrew, and High Heels Prohibited.

In the same vein, certain Sundays will feature the colours of Montreal’s thriving record labels such as Bad Pony Records, who represent Greg Pidcock (CA), Ohm Ourani (CA), Tone Depth (CA) and Disco Bum (CA) ; or Pronto Music with Miguel Graça (CA) and MightyKat (CA). Among others, connoisseurs look forward to All Day I Dream by Lee Burridge (GB) and the famous Dirtybird BBQ with Claude VonStroke (US) and Justin Martin (US). Last but not least, the much anticipated annual rendezvous are also back: MUTEK @ Piknic, MEG @ Piknic and POP @ Piknic.”

piknicelectronik.com

Wyrd Montreal 2012 at La Sala Rossa and Casa del Popolo, June 14

Kevin Laforest — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 15:18:12 +0000

In collaboration with Suono Per Il Popolo, Weird Canada will present the second edition of Wyrd Montreal on June 14, at both La Sala Rossa and Casa del Popolo.

Here’s the line-up:

La Sala Rossa
Brave Radar
Dog Day
Actual Water
Coca Cola (U.S. Girls + Slim Twig)

Casa del Popolo
Drainolith
Energetic Action
Tenderness
Bobo Boutin

Wyrd Montreal will also feature the return of the Mega Merch Bazaar (featuring a selection of Canada’s best record labels) and DJ sets from Aaron Levin and Francesco de Gallo.

www.weirdcanada.com

Kim Nguyen’s Rebelle (War Witch) wins top award at the Tribeca Film Festival (ADDED: Jeff Barnaby‘s Rhymes for Young Ghouls wins Tribeca All Access Creative Promise Award)

Kevin Laforest — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 03:12:31 +0000

During tonight’s Tribeca Film Festival awards ceremony, which was held at the at the Conrad New York in New York, Kim Nguyen‘s Rebelle (War Witch) received the Founders Award for Best Narrative Feature, which comes along with a $25,000 prize.

“This indelible character study of a girl who becomes a woman before our eyes in the midst of harrowing war gives words to the unspeakable. Riveting, heartbreaking, vivid, and eloquent, the movie balances scenes of crazy enemy hatred with moments of luminous private love,” commented the jury.

Also, the film’s star, Rachel Mwanza, won the Best Actress in a Narrative Feature Film award, along with $2,500.

Jury Comments: “A nonprofessional actress, this remarkable young woman—barely a teenager when the movie was shot—so fully inhabits her role that there are no borders to her stunning performance, no distance at all between the actress and the unforgettable character Komona.”

The full list of winners is available on the TribecaFilm website.

(ADDED 04/27/12):

We just received this from Prospector Films:

“One of our Prospector Films projects just won the Tribeca All Access Creative Promise Award! Jeff Barnaby‘s Rhymes for Young Ghouls beat out 700 scripts from across North and South America to win a 10K prize. His is the first Canadian script to ever do so, and Jeff is certainly the first Native American filmmaker to do so.

Robert De Niro introduced the awards ceremony and Prospector Films’ producers, John Christou and Aisling Chin-Yee, were presented the award by Gabourey Sidibe (Precious). It was quite the thrill, according to the two of them!

The jury that chose the winner was comprised of Cuba Gooding Jr., Rosario Dawson, and Gabourey Sidibe, amongst others.

RFYG is being co-produced by the Canadian Film Centre’s CFC Features program.”

Little Scream ending her tour at Casa del Popolo on April 28

Kevin Laforest — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 14:24:25 +0000

A year after launching The Golden Record and going on the road with it, Little Scream (a.k.a. Laurel Sprengelmeyer,) is winding down. Her tour will end right here in Montreal at Casa del Popolo, on April 28. She will once again be playing with Arcade Fire’s Richard Reed Parry and Marcus Paquin .

littlescream.com

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Disney’s Beauty and the Beast at Place des Arts, April 24-29

Kevin Laforest — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 03:45:39 +0000

Tonight was the first night of the Montreal run of the new touring production of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, a Broadway musical inspired by the Oscar-winning 1991 animated film.

Written by the film’s screenwriter, Linda Woolverton, and featuring the Alan Menken-Howard Ashman songs we all know and love (along with a few additional numbers composed by Menken with lyrics by Tim Rice), the show is very faithful to the movie and often feels like a cartoon brought to life.

I dug the revolving pop-up sets, the colourful costumes and the atmospheric lighting design, and the performances are enjoyable, if a bit campy at times. And then of course there’s the song and dance numbers, including such show-stoppers as Belle (Bonjour), Gaston, Be Our Guest, Human Again and Beauty and the Beast.

You can catch Disney’s Beauty and the Beast at Place des Arts every night (plus in the afternoon on Saturday and Sunday) until April 29.

www.laplacedesarts.com

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Janelle Monáe, James Taylor, Liza Minnelli, Tangerine Dream, Norah Jones at Montreal Jazz Fest 2012

Kevin Laforest — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 16:06:28 +0000

The full indoor program of the 33rd edition of the Montreal Jazz Festival was announced this morning. Many living legends will stop by the fest, including James Taylor, Liza Minnelli and 70s bands Tangerine Dream and Van der Graaf Generator.

Also performing will be Janelle Monáe, Norah Jones, Ziggy Marley, Seal, Esperanza Spalding, John Pizzarelli, Harry Manx, Richard Galliano, Emir Kusturica, Chris Botti and Fishbone.

Among local artists, let’s mention Sarah MK, Rémi Boldul, Vic Vogel & le Jazz Big Band, Patrick Watson, Jorane & I Musici, The Barr Brothers, Oliver Jones, Adam Cohen, Timber Timbre and Misstress Barbara.

There will be some special events as well, notably Carlos Saura‘s Flamenco Hoy, Angelo Parra‘s The Life and Blues of Bessie Smith: The Devil’s Music, a battle of the bands between the Duke Ellington Orchestra and the Count Basie Orchestra, and the return of GRUBB.

Finally, let’s mention that the Montreal Guitar Show will welcome Philip Catherine, Pierre Bensusan, Larry Coryell, Matt Schofield, Kelly Joe Phelps and a guitar hero showdown opposing Steve Hill to Paul Deslauriers!

www.montrealjazzfest.com

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Patrick Watson – Into Giants (video)

Kevin Laforest — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 13:56:55 +0000

Here’s the video for Patrick Watson‘s Into Giants, off their recently released album Adventures in Your Own Backyard.

The video was shot at the Ukrainian Federation by director Brigitte Henry and cinematographer André Turpin

Patrick Watson will play Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier during the Montreal Jazz Festival, on July 4.

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Sean Michaels’ Patrick Watson cover story (04/12/12)

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Xavier Dolan’s Laurence Anyways to show in Un Certain Regard section at Cannes

Kevin Laforest — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 12:43:03 +0000

Xavier Dolan‘s third film, Laurence Anyways, will premiere during the Cannes Film Festival, in the Un Certain Regard section, where Les Amours imaginaires also showed two years ago.

Here is the Cannes lineup as announced this morning:

OFFICIAL COMPETITION

Opening Film: Moonrise Kingdom - Wes Anderson

Cosmopolis - David Cronenberg
De Rouille et d’os – Jacques Audiard
Holy Motors – Leo Carax
The Paperboy – Lee Daniels
Vous n’avez encore rien vu – Alain Resnais
Killing them Softly – Andrew Dominik
Reality – Matteo Garrone
Amour – Michael Haneke
Lawless – Johan Hillcoat
The Taste of Money – Im Sang Soo
The Angels Share – Ken Loach
In Another Country – Hong Sangsoo
Après la bataille – Yousri Nassrallah
Mud – Jeff Nichols
Post Tenebra Lux – Carlos Reygadas
On the Road – Walter Salles
Like Someone in Love – Abbas Kiarostami
The Hunt – Thomas Vinterberg
Paradies Liebe – Ulrich Seidel
Beyond the Hills – Cristian Mungiu
Dans la brume de Serguei Loznitsa

Closing Film (out of competition): Thérèse Desqueyroux – Claude Miller

UN CERTAIN REGARD

Les chevaux de Dieu – Nabil Ayouch
La Playa – Juan Andrés Arango
Trois Mondes – Catherine Corsini
Aimer à perdre la raison – Joachim Lafosse
Despues de Lucia – Michael Franco
Laurence Anyways – Xavier Dolan
Le Grand soir – Benoît Délépine & Gustave Kervern
La pirogue – Moussa Touré
Villegas – Gonzalo Tabal
Student – Darezhan Omirbayev
Elefante Blanco – Pablo Trapatero
11h25: The Day He Choose His Own Fate – Koji Wakamatsu
Antiviral – Brandon Cronenberg
Miss Lovely – Ashim Ahluwalia
Confession d’un enfant du siècle – Sylvie Verheyde
Mystery – Lou Ye
7 jours à la Havane – Benicio Del Toro, Pablo Trapero, Julio Medem, Elia Suleiman, Juan Carlos Tabio, Gaspard Noé & Laurent Cantet

www.festival-cannes.fr

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Irreverend James to headline the opening night of Fringe Park on June 14

Kevin Laforest — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 19:02:15 +0000

Irreverend James and the Critical Mass Choir will bring their “subversive pro-gay feminist secular old-time rabble-rousing barn-burning gospel music” to Parc des Amériques on June 14, as they headline the opening night of the Fringe Park at the St-Ambroise Montreal Fringe Festival.

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Avant_MUTEK Soirée at Satosphere on April 19

Kevin Laforest — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 19:07:02 +0000

While the build-up to the 13th edition of MUTEK continues, a pre-fest show will be happening this Thursday, April 19 at the SAT’s Satosphere.

The featured artists will be Jacaszek (Poland), Demdike Stare (UK), Pole (Germany) and Miles (UK), with Zef & Santo and Diagraf providing immersive visual performances.

www.mutek.org

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