2013 Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards laureates announced

MONTREAL, April 10, 2013 – Andrew Dawes, Daniel Lanois, Jean Pierre Lefebvre, Viola Léger, Eric Peterson and Menaka Thakkar have been named the 2013 laureates of the prestigious Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards (GGPAA) for Lifetime Artistic Achievement. The Lifetime Artistic Achievement Awards are accompanied by two special awards, the Ramon John Hnatyshyn Award for Voluntarism in the Performing Arts is given this year to Jean Pierre Desrosiers and Sarah Polley will receive the National Arts Centre Award, which recognizes exceptional achievement over the past performance year.

Created in 1992 under the distinguished patronage of the late Right Honourable Ramon John Hnatyshyn, then Governor General of Canada, these prestigious awards are presented annually to Canadians whose accomplishments have inspired and enriched the cultural life of our country. “These Awards are Canada’s highest honour for our most accomplished performing artists” said Douglas Knight and Paul-André Fortier, Co-Chairs of the Governor General’s Performing Arts Foundation (GGPAAF).

2013 Festival International du Film sur l'Art (FIFA) Awards – winners

The 31st Annual Festival International du Film sur l'Art (International Festival of Films on Art) or FIFA, presented in association with Astral, closed on Sunday with supplementary screenings of some twenty films. From March 14 to 24, FIFA’s legions of fans were able to enjoy a total of 248 films from 28 countries, embracing a wide range of artistic disciplines, at nine of Montreal’s most prominent cultural institutions. For the first time, FIFA proudly presented recent works from Cuba, Cambodia, South Korea and the Bahamas.

The international jury of the 31st FIFA, presided over by Olivier Kaeppelin, director of the Maeght Foundation in Saint-Paul-de-Vence (France), revealed the 12 prizewinners from 8 countries at the Awards Ceremony held at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts last Saturday, March 23. The other jury members included American filmmaker and composer Michael House; New Brunswick producer, director and screenwriter Monique LeBlanc; Quebec producer Michel Ouellette; and Belgian producer-director Françoise Wolff.

2013 Festival International du Film sur l'Art, Mar 14-24

OPENING NIGHT AND AWARDS CEREMONY FILMS OF THE FIFA’s 31st EDITION
THE FATWA – SALMAN’S STORY AND ROAD MOVIE, A PORTRAIT OF JOHN ADAMS

Montréal – The International Festival of Films on Art (FIFA) is proud to present its Opening Night and Awards Ceremony in one of Montreal’s finest cultural institutions: the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. The film The Fatwa – Salman’s story by Jill Nicholls will open the FIFA’s 31st edition on Thursday, March 14 at 8 p.m. and on the eve of the closing of the Festival, the film Road movie, un portrait de John Adams / Road Movie, a Portrait of John Adams by director Mark Kidel will be presented on the Awards Ceremony, held on Saturday, March 23 at 8 p.m.

2013 South Bank Sky Arts Awards – winners

The best of British arts and culture celebrated at the South Bank Sky Arts Awards 2013 in a glittering ceremony hosted by Melvyn Bragg

From Olympic arts and comedy to new and emerging talent, this year's South Bank Sky Arts Awards once again celebrated the best of British culture and achievement. In a ceremony attended by some of the most illustrious patrons, practitioners and performers in the arts, the winners in visual art, theatre, opera, dance, comedy, classical music, pop, TV drama, literature and film were presented with their awards.

2012 Culture Days, Sept 28-30

The third annual Culture Days weekend takes place September 28 to 30 across Canada. It will feature "thousands of free, hands-on, interactive activities that invite the public to participate 'behind-the-scenes,' to discover the world of artists, creators, historians, architects, curators, designers and other creative people in their communities." In Québec, it's the 16th year for their annual Journées de la culture, which in turn inspired the nation-wide movement.

Film-related events in Montreal include the opening screening of the 2012 YoungCuts Film Festival; the Festival International du Film sur l'Art screening two award-winning films Aux limites de la danse and Frédérick Back: Grandeur nature at Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal; Les Rendez-vous du cinéma québécois showcases Québécois short films; and Rencontres internationales du documentaire de Montréal (RIDM) hosts an interactive screen-printing booth.

Cinédanse Montréal, Sept 20-23

The inaugural Cinédanse Montréal launches tonight at the Cinéma Impérial. The opening night gala screening will be The Co(te)lette Film by Mike Figgis, with the director in attendance. The film is based on the work of feminist Belgian choreographer Ann Van den Broek.

The film is a lively and faithful cinematic reproduction of the sexually daring, provocative work by Van den Broek. Grand prizewinner for best film at the Los Angeles Dance Camera West, Figgis' movie is acclaimed by the Los Angeles Times, depicted as a "rare piece, an iconoclast portrait of the modern woman... Co(te)lette is a kind of postmodern Showgirls meets Fight Club punctuated with a dance marathon vibe."

Other films being screened include Dancing for Mr. B: Six Balanchine Ballerinas; Rêves de Babel; Édouard, Louise, Marc et Amelia; Aux limites de la scène, and Life in Movement. The closing film will be Fabrice Herrault's Claude Bessy: Lignes d'Une Vie (Traces of a Life).

Call for submissions: the 34th Rhubarb Festival, Young Creators Unit

A call for submissions has been put out for the 34th annual Rhubarb Festival, which takes place in the late winter at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre.

The deadline for submissions is Friday, September 7. This includes both general submissions as well as submissions to the one-to-one performance category and mobile works.

Buddies in Bad Times has also put out a call for submissions for their Young Creators Unit (YCU). The program provides training and mentorship for four queer-identified artists (age 25 and under) to develop and perform their own original, 25-minute, solo performance piece. Participants will present their finished works at The Rhubarb Festival.

Toronto Fringe Festival, July 4-15

The 24th Annual Fringe Festival in Toronto begins today.

This year’s festival presents twelve days with 155 shows produced by national and international artists who will delight and entertain with musicals, comedy, drama, dance, visual art, site-specific shows, and theatre for young people. The Fringe Club behind Honest Ed’s is a large, fully-licensed, open-air patio featuring some of Toronto’s hottest indie visual artists at the Fringe Artist Alley, and the Fringe Club daily programming includes live concerts like a free Jack Grunsky concert on Saturday, July 14th, as well as lively debate with theatre movers and shakers like Sky Gilbert, Daniel Brooks, Natasha Mytnowych, and many more.

2012 Dora Mavor Moore Awards – winners

The 33rd annual Dora Mavor Moore Awards took place tonight at the Bluma Appel Theatre in the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts. The event was hosted by Thom Allison.

The top winners on the night were Theatre Passe Muraille's Crash, and Caroline, or Change by Acting Up Stage Company with Obsidian Theatre Company, each with four awards. Crash won in the General Theatre Division with Outstanding New Play and Performance by a Female in a Principal Role for Pamela Mala Sinha as well as for Lighting Design and Sound Design. Caroline, or Change won (mostly) in the Musical Theatre Division, taking Outstanding Production of a Musical, Actress (Arlene Duncan), Actor (Sterling Jarvis) and Musical Direction.

Topdog Underdog, which Obsidian Theatre Company produced with the Shaw Festival, won three major awards in the General Theatre Division. It won Outstanding Production, Outstanding Male in a Principal Role (Nigel Shawn Williams) and Outstanding Musical Direction (Reza Jacobs).

Luminato 6, June 8-17

The sixth edition of Luminato, Toronto Festival of Arts and Creativity beings today with a number of exciting events including Einstein on the Beach by Philip Glass and La Belle et la Bête: A Contemporary Retelling. The festival is encompasses a wide spectrum of artistic disciplines and activities including music, theatre, visual arts, literature, film, magic, food and dance.

One of the highlight's of the festival will be a marathon performance by Stewart Goodyear of all 32 of the Beethoven piano sonatas in an 11-hour period. There will also be free concerts every day at David Pecaut Square, starting on Friday, June 9 with K'naan and Kae Sun. Other free shows will include Rufus Wainwright, Loreena McKennitt, Calypso Rose, Fatoumata Diawara, Dan Mangan and Kevin Fox. The closing concert at David Pecaut Square will be the Toronto Symphony Orchestra performing works including a new piece by Philip Glass and Tchaikowsky's 1812 Overture for the 200th Anniversary of that war.

2012 Dora Mavor Moore Awards – nominations

At a press conference held June 5 at the Elgin and Winter Garden Theatre Centre, the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts (TAPA) announced 169 nominations for 212 eligible productions that opened between June 1, 2011 and May 22, 2012 for the 33rd annual Dora Mavor Moore Awards which honour excellence in the performing arts in Toronto.

For the 2011-2012 season, 116 producing companies registered eligible productions. A total of 35 Dora Awards plus the Silver Ticket Award, the Pauline McGibbon Award and the Audience Choice Award will be given out in a glittering ceremony hosted by Thom Allison on Monday, June 25 at the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts in the Bluma Appel Theatre.

In the General Theatre Production Division, Tarragon Theatre and Theatre Passe Muraille tie for the overall lead with 8 nods each. Passe Muraille’s Crash and Nightwood Theatre’s The Penelopiad tie for top production with 6 nominations each, followed by 4 each for The Golden Dragon (Tarragon), Topdog Underdog (Obsidian TheatreCompany in association with the Shaw Festival) and WAR HORSE (Bob Boyett, Tim Levy, National Theatre of Great Britain, David Mirvish).

2012 Montreal Fringe Festival, June 4-24

Tonight, the 22nd edition of Le Festival St-Ambroise Fringe Montréal (St-Ambroise Montreal Fringe Festival) with a FRINGE-For-All Festival Launch at Café Campus starting at 7pm. Fringe artists will have 2 minutes or less to take the stage to show you what they’ve got. Get a first taste of what’s coming your way to this year's festival!

The Montréal Fringe Festival is a celebration of independent theatre, dance and music. The festival features around 100 companies from Montréal, Canada and the world who, combined, give over 700 performances. There's plenty for you to choose from, with activities running from noon until midnight at a dozen indoor venues, an outdoor stage and a beer tent.

2012 South Bank Sky Arts Awards – winners

Yesterday, the leaders of the British contemporary and classical arts scene gathered at The Dorchester to present the 16th Annual South Bank Sky Arts Awards. The ceremony was hosted by Melvyn Bragg.

The winners for film and theatre were both adaptations. We Need To Talk About Kevin was based on Lionel Shriver’s novel, while the theatre presentation of Matilda was from the Roald Dahl story.

For Classical music, the winner was Llŷr Williams for his cycle of the Beethoven Piano Sonatas at the Edinburgh Festival. The winner for Opera was the English National Orchestra's The Damnation of Faust. For Pop Music, Kate Bush won for 50 Words For Snow, winning out over fellow chanteuses Adele (21) and PJ Harvey (Let England Shake). The soprano Sophie Bevan won the Times Breakthrough Award, as voted by readers of The Times.

2012 Toronto Palestine Film Festival Launch Party

Debkeh with TPFF: 5th Season Launch Party!

We are excited to announce the launch of the fifth Toronto Palestine Film Festival (TPFF) in 2012. To celebrate, we are hosting our a debkeh (traditional Palestinian dance) themed party, featuring Layaleena Debkeh Group. Of course, our resident TPFF DJ Leila P will spin some amazing dabkeh music for everyone to enjoy and dance to afterwards! At the party, we will reveal the line-up of our pre-festival summer program. Save the date and spread the word - you don’t want to miss it!

Call for submissions: TWAT/fest (Trans Women’s Arts Toronto)

TWAT/fest CALL for SUBMISSIONS!!
TWAT/fest
(Trans Women’s Arts Toronto)

CALL OUT FOR SUBMISSIONS

Due June 10th, 2012

Please distribute widely!

Do you identify as a trans woman (MTF, MAAB genderqueer, transsexual, tgirl, transgender, hijra, travesti, transvestite, woman of transsexual experience, etc etc etc etc etc)?

Do you create fine art? (Film/video, visual art, performance, dance, sculpture, photography, music, and everything else that we create and destroy)

Festival Temps d'images, April 19–27

The 7th edition of the Canadian edition of Festival Temps d'images begins tonight in Montreal.

Festival Temps d'images is an event featuring unexpected international bridges between performing and visual arts. It was begun a decade ago by ARTE and La Ferme du Buisson at the National Theatre in Marne-La-Vallee, Noisiel, France. It has since expanded to ten other countries – Portugal, Italy, Hungary, Belgium, Germany, Poland, Estonia, Romania, Turkey and Canada, its only North American edition.

Tonight, the festival offers up the installations Cargo, Tête à tête, Tableaux and Peptone. There are also two performances with Points, lignes avec haut-parleurs and Haptic / Holistic Strata.

The festival continues with projections of Quarantaine and The cost of living, and shows of Trieste, Soak, Kiss and Cry and White Box.

Festival Vue sur la Relève 2012, April 4–21

The 17th edition of the Festival Vue sur la Relève for emerging Francophone artists begins today in Montreal. Vue sur la Relève is an annual celebration of multidisciplinary talent from emerging young professional artists under 35 years of age. The festival promotes performing arts and rising Francophone artists from Québec, Canada and internationally and features music, dance, theatre, storytelling, DJs and circus performers.

Tonight's opening show features Jardin Mécanique multidisciplinary show La sinistre histoire du Théâtre Tintamarre, and music performances by Leela from Les chansons de Leela, and Thierry Bruyère from Le sommeil en continu.

In addition to performances, the festival presents 5 à 7 Profession: Artiste, free conferences and panel discussions for arts workers in the early stages of their careers. They will cover topics such as broadcasting, creating a team, and the use of music. They also provide meetings for artists participating in the festival.

2012 Festival International du Film sur l’Art – Award winners

30TH FIFA: AN ANNIVERSARY EDITION, A SYMBOL OF REFINEMENT, SURPRISE AND QUALITY!

Montreal, March 26, 2012 – The 30th International Festival of Films on Art (FIFA), presented in collaboration with Astral, has demonstrated that after thirty years the public’s devotion to the festival is unwavering, as is the festival’s mission. For the last month, film-lovers, art enthusiasts and tourists joined in the anniversary celebrations. From March 15 to 25, 232 films from 27 countries were presented at nine of Montreal’s finest cultural institutions, representing all artistic disciplines and modes of expressions.

At the awards ceremony held on Saturday, March 24 at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, the international jury of the 30th FIFA, presided over by singer-actress-director Carole Laure, honoured 12 films from 9 countries. Other jury members included Simon Brault, CEO of the National Theatre School of Canada; filmmaker Jérôme de Missolz; Christopher Jackson, conductor and artistic director of the Studio de musiques anciennes de Montréal; and Spanish art historian and museologist Salvador Nadales.

2012 Festival International du Film sur l’Art (FIFA), Mar 15–25

The 30th anniversary edition of the Festival International du Film sur l’Art (FIFA) or International Festival of Films on Art kicks off tonight with an invitation only screening of Lech Majewski’s The Mill and the Cross. The film stars Michael York, Charlotte Rampling and Rutger Hauer as the painter Pieter Bruegel the Elder. It tells the story of Bruegel's "The Way to Calvary" through a dozen of its characters come to life.

The festival continues over the next week-and-a-half with films about all the arts. It includes films about  painting, sculpture, animation, photography, design, architecture, fashion, film, literature, dance, theatre, opera, music and more.

After last year's successful launch, the Marché International du film sur l'Art (International Market of Films on Art, or MIFA) returns with representatives from countries including France, United States and Spain. MIFA takes place from Wednesday, March 21 to Saturday, March 24. Activities include training, pitch sessions, master classes, roundtables and conferences.

Amy Greenfield: free screenings, lecture, installations, March 9-10

Ryerson’s Kodak Lecture Series
and The Loop Collective

Co-present

AMY GREENFIELD
THE BODY: CROSSING BOUNDARIES

March 9 – 10, 2012
with Amy Greenfield in person!
Events include:

– Kodak Lecture: Friday, March 9, 7pm, Ryerson University’s Eaton Lecture Theatre