Just when you thought the Occupied snows of winter had melted, along come the green shoots of Occupied spring. Montreal’s ubiquitous actor/activist Donovan King and friends are putting together an evening of politically themed performance this Saturday night at Copacabana.

ROVER: What can we expect to see at Saturday night’s Occupy Theatre?

An Occupy-themed evening of activist performances, both musical and theatrical, including an open mic to allow everyone’s expressions and reflections.

ROVER: What is the purpose of your event?

The purpose of Occupy Theatre is to bring together like-minded activists, artists, and Occupiers to reflect on the movement through arts and to network and plot future activities, such as performances at the infringement festival.

ROVER: How are you getting the word out?

Mostly through social media and word of mouth. No press releases were sent out, and yet the media is contacting us! There is already an article in The Link, for example.

ROVER: Is it too late to get involved?

No, it’s never too late to participate in theatre activism! Artists and activists with something to contribute can contact the director Laurence Tenenbaum (lten514@gmail.com) to get in the line-up or anyone can use the open mic.

ROVER: What’s next?

The Infringement season is almost upon us, with festivals running in Brooklyn, Montreal, Buffalo and Hamilton this year. The 2012 Montreal Infringement Festival runs from June 14 -24, and we are currently welcoming artists and collaborators.

ROVER: What is the Infringement Festival?

The Infringement Festival celebrates activist performances, critical discourse and a broad range of eclectic, independent, and controversial art of all forms. Artists and audiences of all backgrounds are invited to create an anti-oppressive environment where people come together to take chances, push boundaries, explore uncharted territory, and challenge the corporate world.

Anyone wishing to apply should submit here: http://www.infringementfestival.com/montreal/fest/langswitch_lang/en/

Occupy Theatre! Saturday March 31, 8:00 p.m. at Copacabana Bar 3519 St. Laurent blvd. Admission by donation.

Graphic by Paku Daoust-Cloutier The Link

TORONTO BEING THE CANADIAN CAPITAL of population and money, artists looking to build a career know they must pay tribute from time to time. Cold calls and party-crashing are the normal strategies to gaining a toe-hold in the scene, but old-fashioned entrepreneurship has its place too. Mixed media artist Heidi Barkun, sculptor Glen LeMesurier and two painters, Julie Desmarais and Janice Tayler, made the trek from Montreal last week for the second edition of The Artist Project, a trade show for the visual arts held at the Exhibition Grounds. It was a bazaar experience – somewhere between prime time Wal-Mart and a high school road trip.

Pitched as an “independent artists exhibition and sale,” the annual event is organised by MMPI (Merchandise Mart Properties Inc.), a Chicago-based firm that specializes in trade shows and conferences ranging from real estate, construction, interior design and crafts. Montreal-born Steve Levy is the mastermind behind MMPI’s Canadian branch, which puts on some 50 events each year. The Artist Project brings artists and their public together without the gallery middlemen.

Over four days, some 8,000 art lovers paid $10 – $12 to get into the Liberty Grande ballroom-style emporium, where some 150 artists displayed their work in makeshift white cubicles lining four corridors, for which they’d each paid between $1000 and $2500. Announced as a juried event, there was evidence of quality control in the process – some truly outstanding work, though a considerable amount of kitsch made it through.

Many of the artists I spoke to thought sales were down this year compared with last. While some blamed the economy, others blamed the organizers for opening up a wing at the back and sticking a few unfortunates upstairs. This year’s event received considerably less media attention than the fair’s 2008 debut. Nevertheless, attendance grew steadily over the first few days until by Sunday the rooms were packed. Organisers say roughly 70 per cent of participating artists have signed up to return next year.

“This is definitely not my neck of the woods,” said Glen LeMesurier, who forges his impressive iron works in a studio on Van Horne Ave. But after 11 years working in the hothouse atmosphere of Montreal, he’s ready to talk the talk, if it means finding an outlet for his work in a city that buys art. LeMesurier recently showed several pieces at Toronto’s Arta Gallery, and has been invited to the Engine Gallery in the trendy Distillery complex. The Engine’s directors want a piece for display outside their new space. A far cry from the reception he’s used to in Montreal. LeMesurier’s guerrilla installation at the Park-Pine intersection was first reported on by newspapers, then stolen.

Julie Desmarais’ sympathetic landscapes flew off the walls, while the edgier mixed media sculptures and paperworks of Heidi Barkun and Janet Tayler’s bold abstracts garnered critical acclaim and compliments. The Montreal artists were generally satisfied that the effort and expense paid off - if not in sales, at least in terms of exposure.

But if MMPI hopes to build a national reputation for this fresh, new art market, they would do well to lift their heads a little. There were few concessions to and no acknowledgement of out-of-town artists. The panels and art talks organized for members of the public were heavily Toronto-centric.  A little hospitality to non-Hogtownies who spent small fortunes to be there would be a nice. After all, Toronto, you can swill your own bathwater any day of the week.

For information, check out www.theartistprojecttoronto.com
Image shown: Tis But a Flesh Wound by Heidi Barkun see www.heidibarkun.com

MOST MONTREAL FESTIVALS showcase local talent alongside big name imports, presenting agonizing choices: to check out the art being produced in our midst, or stand in line with tourists for the international headliners. Thankfully, there’s the Rendez-vous du cinéma québécois, a comprehensive menu of some 350 new Quebec films, about a third of them shown for the first time. For anyone even faintly curious about the state of this eminently healthy art from, the Rendez-vous is a mid-winter must. And the 27th edition includes a substantial olive branch to English-speaking filmgoers.
Cinema du Parc is hosting the series, A Taste of Rendez-vous, some 10 feature films and a handful of shorts either in English or with English subtitles. There’s a fair amount of buzz around Adam’s Wall. Written and directed by Michael Mackenzie (last seen as author of the exceptional play, The Baroness and the Pig, circa last spring at Imago Theatre), it’s about a young Jewish guy who falls in love with a Lebanese girl.

Ditto Frederico Hidalgo’s Imitation (in English and Spanish). A Mexican woman with a painful secret tracks down her husband who has fled to Montreal. The Mexican theme is carried further in the series Focus on Mexico, with six features and documentaries playing here as part of an exchange with the Guadalajara International Film Festival. Mexican filmmaker Arturo Ripstein and screenwriter Paz Alicia Garciadiego are giving workshops (in English) as part of the Rendez-vous’ master class series. Those interested in the business end may want to take in the talk by veteran American producer Christine Vachon, author of two books on independent filmmaking.

In the subtitled category, Lyne Charlebois’ acclaimed feature Borderline is definitely worth checking out. Based on the novels of Marie-Sissi Labreche, this edgy coming of age story follows the travails of a sexy young woman who shuttles back and forth between a tortured home life and an affair with a married man. Charlebois is a rising star, one of the few women in an impressive new generation of Quebec directors.

The festival opens Wednesday night at the Cinema Imperial with Erik Canuel’s new feature film Cadavres, with Patrick Huard and Julie Le Breton. Described in the press kit as “a dark and cynical comedy” but some who’ve seen it apply the word horror. Canuel is best known as the director of the phenomenally popular Bon Cop Bad Cop. It remains to be seen whether his legion of fans will follow him down a dark corridor.

In addition to many enticing hours of screen time, the Rendez-vous offers a full panoply of parties, workshops, exhibitions and free events. The ten-day fest takes place in several locations, including the Cinémathèque Québécoise, the NFB Cinema, Cinema du Parc, Segal Centre and the Grande Bibliothèque. For a complete schedule of events and ticket information, cheque their website at www.rvcq.com.

Photo: Actress Suzanne Clément, spokesperson for the Rendez-vous 2009.

IT COULD HAPPEN TO YOU. One day, a few weeks ago, NDG-based photographer Bob Cadloff opened his e-mail to find a note from a gallery in Barcelona Spain asking if he would like to show his work in an upcoming exhibition.  Would I! Cadloff exclaimed, swivelling in his chair before typing back a gracious acceptance. A few weeks later he was making his way through a crowded quarter of the old Catalan city, along the fashionable Gracia Torrent d’Olla, half surprised to find the gallery existed, and was full of people looking strangely similar to himself, casual artsy types, drinking wine out of plastic cups. Strangers, all of them.

As it turned out, no catch, no big money-making scheme. The exhibition, which is still on, features work of photographers the curators found on the Web. He’ll get a one-third slice of 45 Euro per print should any of his pictures sell. But the event, he figures, was pure serendipity. He did nothing at all to promote his work, except to post a few pictures on the Web.

“The odd thing was I’d been to Barcelona in the summer, on vacation,” Cadloff says. “I fell in love with that town. Never did I think something like this would happen.” Other participants in the exhibition are mainly Spanish, although there was a sprinkling of Americans and other Europeans. The gallery prepared an elegant full-colour catalogue, all of it leading Cadloff to suspect he should be putting more rather than less time into what he has always considered an absorbing hobby.

An engineer by training, Cadloff was thrown out of work last year when his firm closed. He decided to take a break from his professional life and coast on the severance package for awhile.

“I actually had something similar happen to me before,” he says. “I was contacted by a Beverly Hills ad agency that was looking for some interesting photos to put up in their lobby. They saw my Flickr photos and commissioned four huge prints from me through Etsy (a photo sales Website).” While the exhibition hasn’t quite changed his life, Cadloff says he’ll definitely start taking his hobby more seriously from now on.

His photos can be seen at www.flickr.com/photos/bomobob.

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The holiday season is an excellent time to find high-quality art in local galleries, and gift ideas created by local artists. Articule, the artist-run gallery at 262 Fairmount St., is selling a gorgeous calendar featuring paintings by Emily Bennett Beck, who had a solo show at the gallery earlier this year. Her flashy take on Hillary Clinton (pictured on Rover’s homepage) is just one of the 12 female portraits in the calendar. To find out the gallery’s hours, check their Website www.articule.org.

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Talisman Theatre has found an imaginative fund-raising idea. Artistic director Lyne Paquette gathered up all the pages of parchment used in the set of their recent show “Down Dangerous Passes Road” and took them to her life drawing class. The result is dozens of etchings of nudes, various poses, shapes and sizes. And fit for all budgets: the drawings range from $15 to whatever you wish to contribute.  To get a look, go to http://www.talisman-theatre.com/Press/DDPR-Presskit.pdf3.

All money raised will go to Talisman’s 2009 production of Rock, Paper Knife, to be directed in the New Year by Emma Tibaldo.

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The Rover’s holiday project, The 12 Days of Christmas, Chanukah Etc. begins tomorrow.

ROVER’S LAUNCH AT SALA ROSSA Thursday night lasted well beyond many people’s bedtimes, but the event had legs. Friday, clicks on the website shot up as did queries about writing for Rover and membership pledges.

A familiar venue for followers of Montreal’s indie music scene, the St. Laurent Blvd concert hall was packed for an impressive line-up of musical talents who contributed their talent to the cause.

The unclassifiable classical rock band Sweet Mother Logic opened the evening casually with a sound check-cum-improv, just enough to warm up a chilly room for singer/songwriter Coral Egan. Half-hiding behind Sala’s baby grand, the sultry-voiced beauty offered a deliciously intimate moment in an otherwise hopping evening. She sang from her new CD “Magnify”, and played beautifully, despite the burden of a bad cold.

When SML came on for their main set, the chattering class who’d nailed down tables in the centre of the room turned their way. Even those hanging on the bar paid attention to a stage crammed with classically-trained and heavily plugged-in talent. Core band members Eric Kaplin (keyboard), Adrian Aitken (drums), Jack D. Kelly (guitar), Jean-Pascal Saint-Cyr and Justin Wright (cello) were joined by guest artists Mark Simons (clarinet), Emma Glaser (trumpet) and Rick Rosato (base). The group’s innovative mix of skill (evidence of lessons/lots of practicing) and sheer virtuosity swiftly bridged any hint of a generation gap in the audience.

For those who think instrumental music is doomed to be background music, this gang proved otherwise. Video artist Nick Benidt (a.k.a. VJ Bandit) tracked the music on his midi controller, improvising a video mix projected on a screen behind the players. A brilliant show in itself, though if intended to fill in for the absent singer, unnecessary. SML certainly knows how to command a crowd without lyrics.

On the other hand, a young lady with great tubes is not to be dismissed. Amanda Mabro picked up where SML left off with a string of numbers from two EPs, including a crowd favourite, “Old Fashioned Morphine.” A mixed signal if ever there was one: sing-along melody fighting dark lyrics. Mabro and band leave town next week for a gig at the Brussels Opera House. If Thursday night’s pit stop on behalf of Rover is any indication, she’s about to expand her fan base exponentially with this first-ever European appearance.

When all eyes were not glued to the stage, necks craned. The evening was a veritable Who’s Who of the Anglo Montreal arts world. In attendance: Centaur Artistic Director Roy Surette, playwright Bryden MacDonald (whose new play With Baited Breathe debuts there next spring), Lac Brome theatre producer Nick Pynes, Infinitheatre’s Guy Sprung, Geordie Productions’ founder Elsa Bolam, filmmakers Arnie Gelbart, Craig Graham and Katarina Soukup,  writer and filmmaker Merrily Weisbord, best-selling children’s book author/illustrator Elaine Arseneault, novelist Peter Dube, spoken word poet Ian Ferrier, novelist/reviewer Ian McGillis, poet Katia Grubisic, Journey Prize winner Saleema Nawaz, Maisonneuve Magazine publisher Derek Webster, QWF VP Allan Mass as well as writers Anna Feurstenberg, Irina Egli and Elaine Kalman Naves among the many. From other walks: actress Marthe Turgeon; from The Gazette, business editor Bryan Demchinsky and classical music critic Arthur Kaptainis. From McGill, media prof Mark Raboy.

By the time The Darling DeMaes came on, the boomer crowd had largely been replaced by a younger set, many of whom sat on the floor next to the stage. The DeMaes were, as usual, amazing. Their midnight set of folk-rock crooning, combining great lyrics with a thoroughly original sound, seemed to wrap the evening up into a soft, tight ball and send it out into the snowy streets of Mile End. As the last of many Rover writers in attendance headed into the night, webmaster Cameron Knight helped the editors load leftover t-shirts and loot bags into a taxi. Thus did roverarts.com put a happy-faced ‘30’ on a night to remember.

Photos of launch by Marc Muri. www.marcmuri.com

WHY PEOPLE ARE calling Vicky Cristina Barcelona a romantic comedy is a mystery. Woody Allen’s latest film, while set in a sumptuous location, owes far more to Chekhov than it does to the frisky, happily-ever-after love stories that define the genre. There are laughs to be sure, rising mainly from people doing outrageous things involving sex, but at heart this is a tragic story where unrequited love stands in for unrequited life. The climax is a boldfaced theft from Uncle Vanya.

A juicy premise: two lovely young women go off to spend the summer in Barcelona as guests of a well-heeled American couple. Vicky (Rebecca Hall) leaves behind a fiancée. Cristina (Scarlett Johansson) has just finished a tortuous relationship and a bad 12-minute film (her opinion). Alone together and footloose, the girls set out to soak up the European lifestyle. Vicky, the serious one with dark hair, is working on a thesis about Catalan identity which takes her into museums, markets and a library. Blonde Cristina has no idea what she wants out of life, except to be sure it definitely isn’t what Vicky wants, which is a stable existence with a nice guy who adores her. Enter a gooey-eyed Spanish painter (Javier Bardem), whose words of introduction come with an invitation to fly away for the weekend as his guest and, hopefully, his bed mate. Vicky is shocked; Christina can’t wait.

The story unfolds behind a deadpan voice-over explaining who these people are and what they’re doing, a device that helps move a complex plot along and, at the same time, gives the movie a vague if slightly ironic documentary feel. The absence of Woody Allen on screen is hugely liberating. Instead of being stuck in his life, we’re in his mind, and that’s a considerably more interesting place to be.

An eventful meditation on the nature of love and commitment, the tale turns on a crisis of whether to follow a festering impulse, or not. Except that Vicky, who owns this movie, doesn’t have clear choices. She has only post-paradise knowledge, an unsettling acquisition for a careful woman. Rebecca Hall turns in an excellent performance. In the thankless role of her fiancé Doug, Chris Messina consoles himself by occasionally aping Allen’s whine for comic effect. Penélope Cruz as the painter’s flamboyant ex-wife, Maria Elena, though a minor part, is the most interesting person on screen, as actress and character. A frustrated genius, she bonds with fluffy Cristina, though Vicky is clearly her soul mate, both being caught in a permanent dilemma. Cruz shows how to live it to the full.

Barcelona is ravishing. Americans far outnumber Spaniards (or Catalans) onscreen, and a great deal of attention is paid to the difference between the two. Believe what you see and you’ll emigrate immediately. Nobody works, except perhaps to swirl around a bit of paint. If nobody’s happy, they certainly aren’t mean. This is a wonderfully entertaining film, surely one of Woody Allen’s best. Life and love are tragic, but nothing ugly or boring ever interferes with perfect angst.

Favourite European moment: an espresso pot and saucepan of milk boil over as two people make love under the kitchen table. Favourite line: Maria Elena declares her ex-husband’s mistress (Johansson) is the missing ingredient in her life: salt.

Continues at Ex-Centris