City set for Montreal World Film Festival
After this year’s rained-out outdoor music and performing arts festivals, Montreal cinema buffs are getting ready for this city’s annual film frenzy, the Montreal World Film Festival – an event that really won’t be spoiled by the decidedly cold and wet weather. That said, strangely, this year the festival seems to be veering from its film-focus, and heading toward the art of dance for inspiration.
The festival will be kicked off by the world premiere of Ricardo Trogi’s 1981. Produced by Nicole Robert of Montreal’s Go Films, the semi-autobiographical dramatic comedy stars Jean-Carl Boucher as young Ricardo, along with Sandrine Bisson and Claudio Colangelo. Writer-director Ricardo Trogi came to critical and popular attention in 2003 when his debut feature, Québec-Montréal, won four Jutras including best film, script and direction.
The story behind the opening film revolves around Ricardo, moving to a new neighborhood in the Quebec City area, the sixth-grade and struggles to gain acceptance despite his Italian origins. To win approval, he promises his classmates copies of Playboy, and has a crush on the smartest girl in the class. After pretending not to recognize his father playing the accordion in a restaurant, and arguing with his mother over the cost of living and consumerism, Ricardo abruptly changes his conduct…
The Montreal World Film Festival will take place August 27 to September 7, 2009 at various Montreal venues (see website). Under the banner “offers you the world”, the Montreal World Film Festival offers a truly international competition festival including a focus on world cinema, documentaries, tributes, and a Canadian Student Film Festival.
This year the festival will feature more than just the silver screen, with the presentation of local dance troupe Cirque Éloize, who are set to perform on the opening night. To add to the performing arts mix, Gil Roman, famous choreographer Maurice Béjart’s student and dancer will perform a short ballet prior to the North-American premiere of the new piece Arantxa Aguirre’s Of Heart and Courage, Béjart Ballet.
Choreographer Maurice Béjart (1927-2007) was considered one of the most brilliant artists of the 20th century. He revolutionized the art of dance and exhilarated tens of thousands of spectators throughout the world, many of them indifferent to ballet until then.
Béjart had designated the French dancer Gil Roman, a member of his company since 1979, as his surrogate, as the executor of his artistic estate. With Béjart’s disappearance, the new director of the Béjart Ballet Lausanne now has to face the challenge of living up to the legacy he has inherited. Each one of his choices will be decisive for the future of the company. Each one of his steps counts and he is well aware of his heavy responsibilities. This documentary follows the company closely during the early days of the post-Béjart period, presenting Béjart’s posthumous ballet in Basel, coinciding with the first anniversary of his death, and, a month later, in Lausanne, premiering a new ballet with choreography by new authors. A new epoch has begun…
Born in Madrid in 1965, Arantxa Aguirre (daughter of Spanish director Javier Aguirre and actress Enriqueta Carballeira) began her filmmaking career as an assistant to such directors Carlos Saura, Ana Bélen, Pedro Almodóvar and Mario Camus, before making her own directing debut in 2006 with Hécuba, un sueño de pasión, winner of the Goya for best documentary. She has also directed Geraldine end Espana (2006).
Montreal World Film Festival
Dates: August 27-September 7, 2009
City, Province: Montreal, Quebec
Address: 1432, de Bleury Street
Tel: [514] 848 3883
Web: http://www.ffm.ca
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