34e Festival du Film japonais de Montréal

ConsulatGeneralDuJapon-logo

Comme a chaque année la « Japan Foundation » de Toronto et le Consulat Général du Japon à Montréal ont le plaisir d’offrir gratuitement des projections de films japonais. Veuillez noter que la bande originale japonaise est sous-titrée en anglais. Les places sont limitées et seront attribuées selon le principe « premier-arrivé, premier-servi », sans réservation préalable.

L’événement aura lieu les vendredi 20 octobre et samedi 21 octobre à la Cinémathèque québécoise (335, boul. de Maisonneuve Est, près du métro Berri-UQAM).

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FFM 2017 wrap-up

FFM_banner-2017The 41st Montreal World Film Festival (FFM) is now over. This year was a slim pick for the Japanese cinema aficionado since there was only two Japanese movies (two others were co-productions with non-Japanese directors). Besides that, the festival went smoothly for me. However, the only question remaining above our heads is: will there be a festival next year? Of course Serge Losique wants to be reassuring and said that the FFM was here to stay. He even announced the dates for the next two years: August 23rd to September 3rd 2018 and August 22nd to September 2nd 2019 !!

One of the event that I would have liked to attend (but couldn’t by lack of time) was the press conference and Master Class held at L’Astral by Chinese Martial Art Filmmaker Xu Haofeng (The Hidden Sword) on Monday August 28th. It seems that it was one of the rares (if not the only one) press conference held at the FFM this year. I really miss those… (and the film market and the press room!)

The closing film of the festival was a surprise to be announced after the awards, just a few hours before its free screening. It was meant as a gift for the movie fans.

A press release announced the awards for the 48th Student Film Festival: for the Canadian competition it went to Land by Samiramis Kia (York University, Toronto) and for the International competition it went to Elene by Seven Kayhan (Koç University, Istanbul, Turkey).

Another press release announced the awards for the festival itself: the Grand Prix of the Americas (Best Film) went to And Suddenly the Dawn by Silvio Caiozzi (Chile) and the Special Grand Prix of the Jury went to Dear Etranger by Yukiko Mishima (Japan). Check the press release for the other awards.

To summarize, I’ve seen and commented on two Japanese movies:

I also wrote a few informational posts about the festival:

Finally, here are the latest comments about the FFM in the media:

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La rentrée au Parc Frédéric-Back

Je me dirigeais au Parc Frédéric-Back pour prendre ma marche de santé journalière cet après-midi quand j’ai remarqué qu’il y avait beaucoup d’activités. Je me suis alors rappelé qu’il y aurait au parc, tout les samedis de septembre, une programmation spéciales pour la rentrée: jeux et activités, épluchette de blé d’Inde, concerts, etc. La ville a mis le paquet puisqu’il y a même des navettes spéciales à partir des stations Jarry et Iberville pour amener les gens au parc! Voir les détails sur le site web du parc

J’en ai également profité pour poursuivre un petit jeu de chasse aux trésors: l’aspect narratif de l’oeuvre de mémoire Anamnèse 1+1 par Alain-Martin Richard (voir l’album photo sur Flickr) est composé de  trente larges pierres dispersées dans les différents sentiers du parc. Des images y sont sérigraphiées et des textes y sont gravés pour évoquer l’histoire du parc. Dès ma première visite, lors de l’inauguration, j’ai parcourru les sentiers du parc pour les localiser. Je n’en ai d’abord trouvé que la moitié, dispersées autour du belvédère central. Quelques jours plus tard, lors d’une seconde visite, j’en ai trouvé une dizaine de plus autour d’une des aires à pique-nique. J’espérais, aujourd’hui, trouver les autres. C’est comme une chasse aux Pokémons: il me les faut toutes (en photos)! Malheureusement, il m’en manque toujours trois! On verra la prochaine fois…

Si vous désirez exprimer des commentaires sur le parc, vous pouvez le faire avec un petit sondage en ligne. Ne manquez cependant pas de venir profiter des lieux, c’est fort agréable…

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Parc Frédéric-Back


Samedi le 26 août, le Parc Frédéric-Back a été inauguré dans le cadre des célébrations du 375e anniversaire de Montréal. Un communiqué de presse de la ville nous décrit l’événement comme suit:

Le maire de Montréal, M. Denis Coderre, a procédé aujourd’hui à l’inauguration du legs du parc Frédéric-Back, en présence de Mme Anie Samson, maire de l’arrondissement de Villeray-Saint-Michel-Parc-Extension et vice-présidente du comité exécutif,  et de représentants de la famille de M. Frédéric Back. L’œuvre d’art public Amnèse 1+1 de l’artiste Alain-Martin Richard, issue d’une démarche de médiation culturelle de deux ans entreprise auprès des citoyens du quartier, a également été dévoilée à cette occasion.

La cérémonie d’ouverture a débuté avec une performance par des artistes de la TOHU et a culminé avec la coupure du ruban traditionnel. Cela a été suivi par une procession d’artistes et de citoyens qui entrèrent pour la première fois dans le nouveau secteur du parc. La foule s’est ensuite dispersée au travers du parc pour y découvrir, au fil de sa promenade, les multiples points d’intérêt de ce nouveau parc. De nombreuses activités ludiques (manèges, dance, musique, ateliers de bricolage et de maquillage) et d’information (interprétation du site) étaient organisées pour occuper tant les petits que les grands. L’événement s’est terminé avec un concert donné par Akawui, un auteur-compositeur-interprète d’origine Chilienne. (Voir l’album photo que j’ai créé sur Flickr pour illustrer l’événement)

Parc Frédéric-Back//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js 

Le maire, M. Denis Coderre, a également inauguré Anamnèse 1+1, une oeuvre d’art public installée au sommet du belvédère centrale du secteur Boisé Est. Le premier volet de l’Oeuvre de Mémoire d’Alain-Martin Richard est constitué d’une sculpture en forme de conteneur ouvert sur lequel pousse un arbre. Composé de vingt-sept panneaux en aluminium, coulés à partir de ballots de tissu de récupération dont ils retiennent l’empreinte. L’oeuvre évoque le côté industriel du parc ainsi que son aspect de compostage et de récupération. Le second volet est narratif. Il est constitué d’un parcours de 30 larges pierres dispersées dans les différents sentiers du parc. Sur ces dalles de calcaire blanc, des images sont sérigraphiées et des textes gravés, évoquant l’histoire du parc. (Voir l’album photo que j’ai préparé pour illustrer cette oeuvre sur Flickr)

Oeuvre de mémoire//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js 

La création du Parc Frédéric-Back (anciennement la Carrière Miron, puis le Complexe Environnemental Saint-Michel) représente un ambitieux projet de réhabilitation environnemental. C’est un lieu unique, non seulement par son histoire, mais parce qu’il offrira ultimement aux citoyens cent-cinquante-trois hectares de verdure (ce qui a nécessité la transplantation de 78 arbres matures et la plantation de 2100 arbres, 8200 arbustes, 45,000 m2 de vivaces, graminés et herbacés — après tout c’est normal que l’on plante des arbres au Parc Frédéric-Back!). C’est un espace plus grand que le parc du Mont-Royal, ce qui en fera le “Central Park” de Montréal. La caractéristique particulière du parc est sans aucun doute ses fameuses sphères recouvrant les puits de captage de biogaz (qui par ailleurs sont phosphorescentes la nuit!).

Plan du site
 

Jusqu’à récemment, seule la voie polyvalente de 5,5 km ceinturant le parc était accessible au public. Ce week-end inaugure donc deux nouveaux secteurs qui ont été aménagés à l’occasion du 375e anniversaire de Montréal : le secteur Boisé Est (12.5 hectares, offrant des aires de pique-nique, des sentiers, des aires de repos et un belvédère à 360 degrés sur le point le plus haut du site, offrant ainsi une perspective sur le centre-ville et le Mont-Royal) et le secteur Papineau-Sud (5.2 hectares, offrant une aire de pique-nique, une aire de rencontre avec abri et mobilier urbain, une plaine de jeux libres et un belvédère sur le secteur du parc encore en cours d’aménagement). Deux autres secteurs ont également été réaménagés: le secteur Papineau Nord (1.3 hectares, entrées Lecocq, Louvain et Charton) et le secteur Iberville Sud (4.1 hectares, entrée Émile-Journault Est).

C’est un superbe parc, plein de sentiers de randonnée et de nature, et je suis fort heureux de sa présence. Je suis cependant très déçu qu’on ait tardé à ouvrir les nouveaux secteurs (préalablement annoncé pour le printemps, je trouve qu’une ouverture fin août soit un peu tard dans l’année — de nombreuses fleurs étaient déjà fanées…), que certains détails semblent avoir été oublié (certains des belvédères offrent encore un point de vue remarquablement… arboricole) et que l’ouverture complète ait été mainte fois reportée (d’abord annoncée pour 2020, puis 2023, maintenant il semble que ce sera pour 2025!). Toutefois, heureuse surprise, j’ai appris que l’ouverture sera échelonnée sur plusieurs années: les secteurs d’Iberville et du Cirque du Soleil ouvriront au printemps 2019, ceux des Plaines et du Boisé central à l’automne 2021, puis finalement les secteurs ouest longeant Papineau à l’automne 2023. Si tout va bien, le Parc devrait donc être complété en 2025.

Mais pour l’instant, on ne manquera pas de profiter des secteurs existants!

Ce qu’en disent les média:

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Japanese movies at the FFM 2017

There are only four Japanese movies at the Montreal World Film Festival this year. You will find bellow all the details we could find on each of them:

World Competition / Film en compétition

Dear Etranger (?????????? / Osanago Warera ni umare / lit. “Children born to us”): Japan,  2017, 127 mins; Dir.: Yukiko Mishima; Scr.: Haruhiko Arai (based on a novel by Kiyoshi Shigematsu); Cast: Rena Tanaka, Tadanobu Asano, Miu Arai, Narushi Ikeda, Raiju Kamata, Kankurô Kudô, Sara Minami, Shingo Mizusawa, Shinobu Terajima.

Based on the novel from Kiyoshi Shigematsu, this is the story of Makoto Tanaka, a 40-years-old who has remarried. His wife is Nanae and they care for 2 daughters from Nanae’s prior marriage. Makoto tries to have an ordinary family but Nanae becomes pregnant and things are bound to change.

Schedule : Cinema Imperial — Fri 09/01 19:00 / Cinema Imperial — Sun 09/03 11:00.

[ AsianWiki — IMDbVimeo —  Youtube ]

First Feature Competition / Compétition des premières oeuvres

Noise : Japan, 2017, 124 mins; Dir.: Yusaku MATSUMOTO; Cast: Kokoro Shinozaki, Urara Anjo, Kosuke Suzuki, Kentaro Kishi, Takashi Nishina, Kenji Kohashi, Hiroshi Fuse.

Eight years have passed since the Akihabara massacre. A pop star whose mother was killed in the incident, a teenager who left her home of Akihabara, a delivery boy who turns his anger to the city. This is a story about the characters striving to grasp the string of hope within the darkness surrounding the city, the incident, and the people.

Schedule : Cinema du Parc 3 — Fri 08/25 10:00 / Cinema du Parc 1 — Fri 08/25 20:15 / Cinema Dollar 1 — Sat 08/26 21:00.

[ IMDbOfficial WebVimeoYoutube ]

Focus on World Cinema / Regards sur les Cinéma du Monde

Nightscape : S. Korea / Japan, 2017, 71 min.; Dir.: In-chun Oh.

Based on a true event. There was a new team chasing after a suspicious Taxi. It started with just a small suspicion. But… what happened to them that midnight?

Schedule : Cinema Dollar 2 — Sat 08/26 21:00 / Cinema du Parc 3 — Thu 08/31 12:00 / Cinema du Parc 3 — Mon 09/04 17:00.

[ IMDbOfficial webVimeo teaser 1Vimeo teaser 2 ]

Shorts / Courts métrages

No song to sing : Japan / United Kingdom, 2017, 24 min.; Dir./Phot.: Lukasz Gasiorowski; Scr.: Maiko Takeda; Ed.: Masahiro Hirakubo; Mus.: Ewen Bremner; Cast: Make Takeda, Takuji Suzuki, Shinjiro Takahashi, Nobuyuki Kobayashi, Kayo Takeda, Ryubun Sumori, Issei Yamashita, Kenichi Masuda.

Natsu, a professional femme fatale works for a typical Tokyo “Telephone Date Club”. She enjoys selling fantasies to lonely men, but as she becomes emotionally entangled in the web of her own deceptions, she finds herself unable to pay the price of her own merchandise.

Schedule : Cinema du Parc 3 — Sun 08/27 16:00 / Cinema du Parc 3 — Tue 08/29 16:15 / Cinema Dollar 2 — Sun 09/03 21:00.

[ IMDbOfficial webVimeo ]

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FFM Update

The 41st edition of the Festival des Films du Monde is offering us this year only ninety-two movies and forty-two shorts from countries all over the world. It might be a reduced formula (no printed program, no press room, no film market) but, still, no other festival could offers such diversity.

The information has finally finished to trickle down and we now know the complete list of the movies to be screened and their schedule. Unfortunately, aficionado of Japanese cinema will feel a little short-changed this year as the lists includes only FOUR Japanese movies:

The movies will be screened in three theatres:

Day 1: I went to see my first movie tonight, Noise. The theatre was almost empty, but that’s to be expected for a Japanese movie on a Friday night. I have taken notes on the bus ride on my way back, and I’ll post my comments on the movie as soon as I can. However, I will not see much movies this year: the one in competition for sure (Dear Etranger), but I’ll see for the other two (a horror movie and a short ?). The first day went smoothly so, even with the minimalist organisation, the festival seems to be doing well (I guess that with the experience of last year’s disaster they were better prepared this time). I hope it will continue and get better in the future. This year is the eighteeth time I have been covering and reporting on the FFM and I wish I’ll reach the twentieth time…

Here is what they say about the FFM in the news:

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FFM – First Film World Competition

Today, the FFM announced the nineteen movies included in the First Film World competition. There is one Japanese movie in the list:

Noise : Japan, 2017, 124 mins; Dir.: Yusaku MATSUMOTO; Cast: Kokoro Shinozaki, Urara Anjo, Kosuke Suzuki, Kentaro Kishi, Takashi Nishina, Kenji Kohashi, Hiroshi Fuse.

Eight years have passed since the Akihabara massacre. A pop star whose mother was killed in the incident, a teenager who left her home to Akihabara, a delivery boy who turns his directionless anger to the city. This is a story about the characters striving to grasp the string of hope within the darkness surrounding the city, the incident, and the people.

[ IMDbOfficial WebVimeoYoutube ]

No screening schedule has been announced yet. We will post more information as it becomes available.

Here is what they say about the FFM in the news:

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FFM Schedule

The schedule for the competition movies has been posted last night. Those screenings will be held at the  Imperial Cinema. The schedule for the screenings at the Cinema du Parc and Dollar Cinema will be announced later.

The only Japanese movie in Competition will screen at the Imperial on Friday September 1st at 19:00 with English subtitles and on Sunday September 3rd at 11:00 with French subtitles.

DEAR ETRANGER (?????????? / Osanago Warera ni umare): Japan, 2017, 127 mins; Dir.: Yukiko Mishima; Scr.: Haruhiko Arai (based on a novel by Kiyoshi Shigematsu); Cast: Rena Tanaka, Tadanobu Asano, Miu Arai, Narushi Ikeda, Raiju Kamata, Kankurô Kudô, Sara Minami, Shingo Mizusawa, Shinobu Terajima.

Based on the novel from Kiyoshi Shigematsu, this is the story of Makoto Tanaka, a 40-years-old who has remarried. His wife is Nanae and they care for 2 daughters from Nanae’s prior marriage. Makoto tries to have an ordinary family but Nanae becomes pregnant and things are bound to change.

[ AsianWiki / IMDb / Youtube ]

We will post more information as it become available.

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What about the FFM ?

We are less than a week before the alleged beginning of the 41st edition of the Montreal World Film Festival on Thursday and there is still very little information available about it. Will it even take place?

According to an article in La Presse, it seems that it is still on course. And tonight, the list of the eighteen movies in the run for World Competition was released. There is only one Japanese movie in competition: Dear Etranger (?????????? / Osanago Warera ni umare) directed by Yukiko Mishima [ AsianWiki / IMDb / Vimeo / Youtube ].

My guess is that the festival will be even more chaotic than last year and scheduling information will trickle down day by day… But does it really matter as long as we can watch good international movies that we would probably not be able to see anywhere else?

Here is what they say about it in the news:

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Inauguration du parc

Ce matin dans ma boite à lettre j’ai trouvé une publicité annonçant l’inauguration du Parc Frédéric-Back dans un peu moins de deux semaine, le samedi 26 août dès midi. C’est donc maintenant officielle!

La cérémonie, qui se déroulera dans le secteur Boisé Est (angle 2e avenue et rue Deville), inclura une performance d’ouverture, le dévoilement de l’oeuvre de mémoire (?), des activités ludiques pour grands et petits ainsi qu’un spectacle de clôture en soirée.

Aussi, tous les samedis de septembre, dès 11h, nous pourrons profiter de pique-niques champêtres, de maïs gratuit, de nombreuses activités ludiques et autres surprises!

C’est un peu tard pour ouvrir un parc mais, bon, la ville se rattrape en offrant une programmation spéciale pour la rentrée. Les travaux sont théoriquement terminés depuis le printemps (et je n’y ai pas vu beaucoup d’activité durant l’été) alors je ne comprend pas pourquoi attendre aussi tard pour en faire l’ouverture. Et malgré tout, le parc ne me semble pas encore tout à fait prêt: hautes herbes, belvédères obstrués par les arbres, etc., et le tout est encore clôturé mur à mur… Enfin, c’est un début!

Pour plus de détails, consultez le site des legs du 375e ainsi que le site des Grands Parcs de Montréal.

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How to save the planet

You’re feeling good because you think you are saving the environment by recycling and switching to LED light bulbs? Well,  don’t (feel good, I mean). It is totally useless.

Last week-end, I read an interesting article in The Gazette titled “Want to save the planet?” (also from the National Post via PressReader). A study by the University of British Columbia is showing that what we are told to do to reduce climate change is rarely the most effective way.  We’re told that “making a difference doesn’t have to be difficult” when, in truth, making a real impact demands some major sacrifices!

The most interesting part of the article is found in a graphic that was available only in the print version. What high school textbooks suggest students to do for the environment is not very effective: using reusable shopping bags instead of plastic ones represent only a saving of 0.005 tonne (5 kg) of carbon dioxide per person per year, while upgrading light bulbs saves 0.1 tonne, hanging your laundry to dry in the sun saves 0.21 tonne, recycling saves 0.213 tonne and washing your clothes in cold water saves 0.247 tonne. Small changes.

In opposite, the more effective actions for helping the environment represents only four per cent of the suggestions given to students. The best tactics are eating less meat with a plant-based diet (saving of 0.8 tonne per year), buying green energy (saving 1.5 tonne per year), taking one less transatlantic flight per year (saves 1.6 tonne), and going car-free (saving 2.4 tonne per year — note that switching from an electric car to car-free saves 1.15 tonne per year and buying a more efficient car saves 1.19 tonne per year!). However, the most effective way to be environmentally friendly is to have one less child: you would save 58.6 tonne of CO2 emission per year! I always said that those kids are killing the planet.

I am really happy because I am already doing all those things (switching light bulbs, washing in cold water, hang-drying, using reusable bags, hydro-electricity, having a plant-based diet, no flying, no car, no kid) and I hope you will consider it too. I won’t go as far as some sci-fi shows and suggest, as some sort of Sophie’s Choice, that we should reduce the children population (or even the general population) — it would surely make the environment quieter — but please copulate with moderation (I would say “practice abstinence” but that would be inconsiderate: just don’t have four or five kids and think of it as a planetary-wide one-child policy)! There are already too many people on earth…

That would certainly be a good way to save the planet.

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Retour du solde de livres !

ABM_2017_AFF_vweb_petitLe solde de livres des Amis de la bibliothèque de Montréal est de retour encore cette année. Il aura lieu du 20 au 28 mai, de 13h à 19h. Mais attention toutefois: comme l’emplacement habituel est sous rénovation, l’événement aura exceptionnellement lieu à l’Aréna Martin-Brodeur (5300 boul. Robert, Saint-Léonard). On peut s’y rendre de nombreuses manières: avec l’autobus 32 ou 432 Lacordaire (Nord) à partir du métro Cadillac, avec l’autobus 141 Jean-Talon (Est) puis l’autobus 32 Lacordaire (Nord) à partir du métro Saint-Michel, avec l’autobus 69 Hneri-Bourassa (Est) puis la 32 Lacordaire (Sud) à partir du métro Henri-Bourassa, et finalement avec l’autobus 192 Robert (Est) à partir du métro Crémazie.

Comme à chaque année, le Solde de livres offre plus de 100,000 livres et revues à petits prix ($1 pour les livres adultes et les CDs ou DVDs, 50¢ pour les livres d’enfants et les revues et $2 pour les beaux livres, dictionnaires et encyclopédies) — et cela inclus plus 15,000 livres en anglais. Le but de cette vente est “de prolonger la vie utile de ces livres, d’aider à répandre le goût de la lecture et de permettre aux citoyens de Montréal d’enrichir leur bibliothèque personnelle à faible coût. Les revenus provenant de ce solde serviront principalement à financer des activités d’animation dans les bibliothèques de Montréal.”

À ne pas manquer !

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iBus sur la bonne voie?

IMG_0069
(iPhone 6s, 2017-04-03)

Les bornes d’information du nouveau système iBus sont déjà installées depuis un bout de temps mais leur mise en service a été retardé. Toutefois, j’ai remarqué aujourd’hui que la borne au coin de St-Michel et Legendre de Louvain fonctionnait, même si elle n’affichait pas encore de l’information utile. La borne borne au coin de St-Michel et de Émile-Journault quant à elle n’était pas encore fonctionnelle. Combien de temps encore devront nous attendre pour la mise en marche de ce système? Espérons qu’il sera en fonction avant l’été, pour les célébrations du 350e de Montréal!

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Discovery: five new anime to watch

In This Corner of the World

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While watching the news on
NHK World earlier today, document.write(“”); I saw a report on a new anime movie that sounds quite interesting. Based on a manga by Fumiyo K?no, this historical animated drama tells the daily life of young newly wed Suzu in the Japanese countryside of Kure during the years leading to WWII.

In This Corner of the World (???????? / Kono Sekai no Katasumi ni): Japan, 2016, 130 min.; Dir./Scr.: Sunao Katabuchi; Anim. Dir.: Hidenori Matsubara; Char. Des.: Hidenori Matsubara; Mus.: Kotringo; Prod.: Masao Maruyama (MAPPA), Taro Maki (GENCO); Voice cast: Rena N?nen (Suzu), Yoshimasa Hosoya (Sh?saku), Natsuki Inaba (Harumi), Minori Omi (Keiko), Daisuke Ono (Tetsu), Megumi Han (Sumi), Shigeru Ushiyama (Entaro), Mayumi Shintani (San), Nanase Iwai (Rin).

ANN / IMdB / Japan Times / Official website / Wikipedia / Youtube

Four more anime titles have caught our attention in the last few months:
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Monthly notable news (W45-48)

So far, document.write(“”); November was quite a busy month. Besides all the exasperation and exhaustion at work (I feel I am working like a blue-collar — it’s my understanding that a white-collar should never sweat at work), I kept busy by going to a vegan fest and the Montreal Book Fair. I also finished watching a few tv series like Poldark, A Place to Call Home, Versailles; and Westworld becomes more intriguing.
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Winter finally came (temperature in the minus and a little snow on the ground) but I am ready for it since I already got my flu shot. The world events were mostly dominated by the U.S. election and the unexpected election of Donald Trump (that’s the beauty of democracy: people have to right to be wrong!), as well as by the passing of Fidel Castro. I also noted the proliferation of announcements and trailers for live-action movie adaptations: Valerian, Blade of the Immortal (a.k.a. L’Habitant de l’infini; directed by Takashi Miike!), Ghost in the Shell, Full Metal Alchemist, Stranger in a strange land, Starship Troopers, Saint Young Men (Les Vacances de Jésus et Bouddha), etc. ! And I discovered a new Fuyumi Soryo’s manga about Marie Antoinette (can’t wait to receive it and read it)!

However, I still found some time to stay acquainted (a bit) with the affairs of the world. Here’s a “few” notable news & links that I came across this month and that I’d like to share with you, after the jump (in no particular order, in both french and english):

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Découverte: Marie-Antoinette, la jeunesse d’une reine

Marie-Antoinette-covSa véritable Histoire, pour la première fois en manga !

“Marie-Antoinette est l’une des personnalités historiques les plus adaptées en fiction. Sophia Coppola, Chantal Thomas ou Riyoko Ikeda… de nombreux créateurs ont donné naissance à un personnage en adéquation avec leurs idéaux.”

“Cependant, quand Fuyumi Soryo s’attaque au mythe, ce n’est pas pour reproduire une énième icône malmenée par la vision trop partiale de Stephan Zweig, mais pour restituer dans la réalité historique une jeune fille dénuée de tout artifice.”

“Avec la précision qu’on lui connaît déjà sur Cesare et grâce au soutien du Château de Versailles, ce n’est plus un simple manga, mais une plongée virtuelle au cœur de la cour au XVIIIe siècle que l’auteur vous offre. Que vous soyez adepte des fresques historiques, lecteur de manga ou tout simplement curieux de nouveauté, ne passez pas à côté de cette création ! D’autant plus que les Éditions Glénat, co-éditeur dans ce projet, auront la chance de publier ce titre en avant-première de sa sortie japonaise !!” (Texte du site de l’éditeur)

Hier, je regardais les nouvelles sur NHK World et on y présentait un reportage sur le tout dernier manga de Fuyumi Sōryō, Mars. On y mentionne que la mangaka travaillait maintenant sur une biographie de Marie-Antoinette (voir aussi ANN, Le Monde) alors que je croyais qu’elle travaillais à la suite de Cesare. La mangaka aurait-elle décidé de mettre fin abruptement à Cesare (avec le volume 11)? D’autant plus que l’article mentionne que son futur projet serait une biographie de Dante Alighieri (poursuivant sur le sujet de la renaissance Italienne). Mais peut-être (j’espère) a-t-elle juste temporairement mis Cesare sur pause afin de travailler sur Marie-Antoinette, qui ne comporte d’ailleurs qu’un seul volume (un “one-shot” comme on dit).

Extrait des pages 10-11, 20-21, 24-25, & 40-41 (lire de droite à gauche):

Marie-Antoinette (マリー・アントワネット) est un manga historique seinen par Fuyumi Sōryō qui a d’abord été pré-publié en feuilleton dans Morning (et son pendant digital: D Morning), un magazine hebdomadaire de Kōdansha. Il a débuté dans le numéro 38 (18 août 2016) et s’est étalé sur quatre publications (se terminant dans le numéro 41). Chose rare, la publication en volume (tankōbon) s’est faite au Japon en septembre 2016, soit quelques jours après la parution du volume en français!

Malgré certaines critiques négatives en France, on peut s’attendre à un ouvrage d’une grande qualité historique. Soryo est d’ailleurs reconnue pour la qualité de sa documentation, d’autant plus que le projet, co-publié par Kodansha et Glénat, est produit en collaboration avec le Château de Versailles, qui a ouvert ses portes et offert tout son soutient à l’artiste. Le magnifique style rococo qui caractérise l’époque sera donc fidèlement reproduit dans tous ses aspects: la mode, l’architecture, l’étiquette et les moeurs de la court royale, etc.

Si l’on prends pour exemple la qualité de son travail sur Cesare (tant les détails historiques que le travail artistique), on ne sera pas déçu. J’ai déjà commandé le manga et le commenterai dès que je l’aurai lu.

Marie-Antoinette, la jeunesse d’une reine, par Fuyumi Soryo. Paris: Château de Versailles / Glénat (Coll. Seinen), septembre 2016. 180 pg., 9.15 € / $14.95 Can. ISBN: 978-2-344-01238-3. Recommandé pour public adolescent (12+).

Pour plus d’information vous pouvez consulter les sites suivants:

[ AmazonGoodreadsGoogleWikipediaWorldCat ]

MARIE-ANTOINETTE © 2016 Fuyumi Soryo / Kodansha Ltd.

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Japanese Film Festival of Montreal

Each fall, document.write(“”); the Japan Foundation (Toronto) and the Consulate General of Japan are pleased to offer free screenings of Japanese films. The films are in Japanese with English subtitles. Limited seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis, with no reservations. This is the 33rd edition.
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The screenings will take place at the Cinémathèque québécoise (335 De Maisonneuve Blvd East, Montreal, QC — near métro Berri-UQAM).

Thu. October 27, 2016 at 19:00

A Tale of Samurai Cooking: A True Love Story (????? / Bushi no kondate). Japan, 2013, 121 min., drama, dir.: Yûzô Asahara, with Aya UETO, Kengo KÔRA, Kimiko YO, Toshiyuki NISHIDA. Read our comments on this movie.

Haru has an excellent sense of taste and unsurpassed skill in the kitchen, but her impetuous character leads to her husband asking for a divorce after only a year of marriage. One day, she is approached by Dennai Funaki, a samurai chef from Kaga, to marry his son and heir, Yasunobu.

Serving the Lord of Kaga not with the sword, but with the kitchen knife, the Funaki family has been known as “Kitchen Samurai” for generations. However, Yasunobu’s lack of culinary skills has placed the Funaki name in peril. To save her new family and its status as “Kitchen Samurai”, Haru decides to teach her new husband the refined art of Kaga cuisine from her point of view. Inspired by a true story. (Text from the Cinémathèque website)

For more information: AsianWiki, IMdB, Official website, Youtube


Sat. October 29, 2016 at 13:00

Drops of Heaven (????? / Ten no shizuku Tatsumi: Yoshiko inochi no sûpu). Japan, 2012, 113 min., documentary, dir.: Atsunori Kawamura, with Yoshiko Tatsumi.

A cooking guru serves wisdom, one soup at a time. In this heartwarming documentary, discover 88-year-old culinary artist Yoshiko Tatsumi and her “Soup of Life”, a soothing dish she ingeniously created for her bed-ridden father. As seasonal crops grow in the beautiful and delicate landscapes of Japan, Yoshiko Tatsumi brings out the best of ingredients, cooking with care to nurture love and joy. (Text from the Cinémathèque website)

For more information: Mubi, IMdB, Official website, Daily Motion

Sat. October 29, 2016 at 15:00

Sue, Mai & Sawa: Righting the Girl Ship (????????????????? / Sû chan Mai chan Sawako san). Japan, 2013, 106 min., drama, dir.: Osamu Minorikawa, with Yôko Maki, Shinobu Terajima, Ko Shibasaki. Read our comments on this movie.

A heartwarming drama based on Miri Masuda’s comic strip series, Sue, Mai & Sawa: Righting the Girl Ship offers a warm and tender depiction of the lives of three women, former colleagues whose friendship has endured over the course of 10 years. Now in their thirties, the three friends each harbor anxieties about their future, their professional paths, their love lives, and their family ties. (Text from the Cinémathèque website)

For more information: AsianWiki, IMdB, Official website, Wikipedia, Youtube


Source: Coco Montreal ( Facebook, webpage )

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Japanese movies at FNC


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The 45th Festival du Nouveau Cinéma (FNC) will be held from 5 to 16 October and will offer 340 films (including 138 feature films and 170 short films) from 62 countries, document.write(“”); including 43 world premieres. That will include nine Japanese movies. For more information: nouveaucinema.ca.

Press coverage:

[ Coco Montreal ] [ Le Devoir ] [ The Gazette ] [ La Presse ] [ Shomingeki ]

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FFM Update Day 4


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We are continuing
our coverage of the Festival des Films du Monde (FFM)

This is my last day at this year’s festival.

I couldn’t be there yesterday but I heard that the queue for the Japanese movie (A loving husband) was pretty long and that Willem Dafoe came back after his movie (My Hindu Friend, document.write(“”); Brazil, dir.: Héctor Babenco) despite the late hour (midnight) for a thirty-minute Q&A. That guy has a lot of respect for his audience and fans!

Even if my wife is still hospitalized (don’t worry she’s doing better, they just kept her to perform some tests), I couldn’t miss the last Japanese movie to be shown at the festival (this year, hopefully). I didn’t regret it. It was a great comedy. I’ll tell you more about it later.

Good Morning show: The crew arriving in a horse carriage! Dir./Scr. Ryoichi Kimizuka, actress Mirai Shida, actor Kiichi Nakai and actress Masami Nagasawa
Good Morning Show : Crew arriving on a horse carriage! Good Morning Show : Dir./Scr. Ryoichi Kimizuka, actress Mirai Shida, actor Kiichi Nakai and actress Masami Nagasawa
I lingered a little after the show to catch a glimpse of Isabelle Adjani that was coming to present her movie Carole Matthieu (France, Dir.: Louis-Julien Petit).

Isabelle Adjani Isabelle Adjani
More pictures on my “FFM 2016” album on Flickr

Tomorrow (Monday) is the last day of the festival. As soon as I have the list of the lucky awards’ winners I’ll post my wrap up comments.

Let’s hope it won’t be the last of the FFM!

Press review:

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FFM Update


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We are continuing
our coverage of the Festival des Films du Monde (FFM)

With all the schedule changes I wasted days off on days that had the screening I wanted to see cancelled so I couldn’t take more days off to watch the couple of movies that were shown at the Outremont Wednesday (Frozen Fireworks, document.write(“”); Hold my Hand) and Friday (Tsukiji Wonderland, Ken-san). And my wife was hospitalized due to a sudden illness today so I couldn’t watch A loving husband… At least I managed to see three Japanese movies. Maybe one more tomorrow…

Sunday September 4, 17h30 (CI.04.5) COMP

Good Morning Show (??????????? / Guddo Moningu Sho): Japan, 2016, 103 min.; Dir./Scr.: Ryoichi Kimizuka; Cast: Kiichi Nakai, Masami Nagasawa, Mirai Shida, Hiroyuki Ikeuchi, Kento Hayashi, Zen Kajiwara, Haruka Kinami, Shunsuke Daitô, Gaku Hamada, Yô Yoshida, Yutaka Matsushige, Saburô Tokitô. The morning variety show, a staple of television around the world, offers news and entertainment but TV host Shingo didn’t expect to be himself the source of the news and entertainment.

Two more theatres are showing FFM movies, so now all the movies selected and previously announced will be screened at least once: the Cineplex Forum (2313 St. Catherine St. West Suite 101 – Metro Atwater // Oh, you choose now to join the party, you moron) and the Cinema Dollar (6900 Décarie Square — Métro Namur). Unfortunately, the Cineplex Forum has shown Her love boils bathwater Saturday at 10h00 and I missed it.

Please, check the schedule on the festival’s website.

All the announced guests are supposed to be there: Liu Yifei, Willem Dafoe and Isabelle Adjani.

Don’t forget to enjoy the festival while you can because it might very well be the last!

Press reviews:

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MWFF Update Day 3


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We are continuing
our coverage of the Festival des Films du Monde (FFM)

Yesterday, document.write(“”); I’ve put on Vimeo a short video of The Seal of the Sun‘s crew introducing their movie before the screening (unfortunately, I had camera troubles, so the video is not very good and it’s incomplete).

I also went to the screening of The Black Widow Business. It’s a good comedy build around what should be a dark subject: women “seeking out old wealthy men to wed and deprive the bereaved family’s inheritance”. There was again a good attendance as the first level of the theatre was nearly three-quarter full (about 250~350 people). I’ll tell you more about it later.

After the Théatre Outremont announcing it will show the “Documentaries” and “Focus on World Cinema” segments of the festival, now it is the Cinéma du Parc (3575, av. du Parc) that has announced that it will show the movies for the 47th Student Film Festival for free! As usual, check the schedule on the festival’s website.

The next Japanese movies to be shown are (barring any more schedule changes):

Wednesday August 31, 15h00 at Théatre Outremont (TO.31.3) DOC

Frozen Fireworks: The Legendary Japanese Model Sayoko Yamaguchi (???? ????? / Kori no hanabi Yamaguchi Sayoko / lit. “Ice of fireworks Sayoko Yamaguchi”) : Japan, 2015, 97 min.; Dir.: Takako Matsumoto; Prod.: OHO Sayuki; Phot.: KISHIDA Masao; Ed.: MAEJIMA Kenji; Sound: TAKAGI Hajime ; Mus.: HISAMOTO Yukina; Cast: YAMAGUCHI Sayoko, Serge LUTENS, MARUYAMA Keita. A documentary portrait of Yamaguchi Sayoko, Asia’s first “top model”, via rare footage and testimony of friends and professional acquaintances.

Wednesday August 31, 17h00 at Théatre Outremont (TO.31.4) REG

Hold my hand (??????????????????????? / Te wo Tsunaide Kaeroyo — Shangurira no Mukou de / lit. “In the other side of the Let’s go home hand in hand Shangri-La”) : Japan, 2016, 105 min.; Dir.: Yoko Narahashi; Scr.: Masayuki Imai; Cast: Tetsuya Bessho, Itsuji Itao, Jay Kabira, Katsuya, Sumire Matsubara, Masahiro Nakai, Nanami. Makoto has a learning disability but dreams of becoming a truck driver. He falls in love with Sakura, a girl who has a similar disability and wants to become a dancer.

Friday September 2, 11h00 at Théatre Outremont (TO.02.1) DOC

Tsukiji Wonderland (?????????) : Japan, 2016, 116 min.; Dir.: Naotaro Endo. A day at Tokyo’s Tsukiji Market, the biggest wholesale seafood market in the world, for a fascinating view of the seafood business during the ramshackle 80-year-old complex’s last year of operation.

Friday September 2, 17h00 at Théatre Outremont (TO.02.4) DOC

Ken san (???) : Japan, 2016, 95 min.; Dir.: Yuichi Hibi; Phot.: Yoshihisa Toda; Ed.: Miyuki Ohgata; Mus.: Tarô Iwashiro. Ken San pieces together the puzzle of the life and legacy of Japan’s mythical acting icon, Ken Takakura. Collaborators, friends and family share intimate stories of Ken’s journey.

Saturday September 3, 13h00 at Cinéma Impérial (CI.03.3) PRE

A loving husband ( ????? / Koisaika Miyamoto): Japan, 2016, 117 min.; Dir./Scr.: Kazuhiko Yukawa (based on the novel by Kiyoshi Shigematsu); Cast: Yûki Amami (Miyoko), Hiroshi Abe (Yohei). Schoolteacher Yohei is married to Miyoko. For the first time in 25 years they begin to live by themselves when their son marries and moves out. Then Yohei discovers that all’s not well in his marriage.

Sunday September 4, 17h30 at Cinéma Impérial (CI.04.5) COMP

Good Morning Show (??????????? / Guddo Moningu Sho): Japan, 2016, 103 min.; Dir./Scr.: Ryoichi Kimizuka; Cast: Kiichi Nakai, Masami Nagasawa, Mirai Shida, Hiroyuki Ikeuchi, Kento Hayashi, Zen Kajiwara, Haruka Kinami, Shunsuke Daitô, Gaku Hamada, Yô Yoshida, Yutaka Matsushige, Saburô Tokitô. The morning variety show, a staple of television around the world, offers news and entertainment but TV host Shingo didn’t expect to be himself the source of the news and entertainment.

As usual, enjoy the festival while you can because it might very well be the last!

Press reviews:

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MWFF Update Day 2


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We are continuing
our coverage of the Festival des Films du Monde (FFM)

Yesterday was my second day at the festival. I went to see Tatara Samurai in the early evening. It was the premiere of the movie so the crew (the director and the two main actors) arrived in great pomp with a limo and the red carpet. There was lots of people and the main floor of the Imperial Theatre was almost full (which means about 300~400 people). It was a beautiful and excellent samurai movie that reminded me a little of Kurosawa. Unfortunately, document.write(“”); the more I like a movie the more I find difficult to talk about it. But don’t worry, I’ll manage to organize my notes (as well as edit the video of the screening intro and small Q&A session — taken this time with my old and more reliable camera) in the next few days in order to eventually share them with you.

See my “FFM 2016” album on Flickr
Tatara Samurai poster Tatara Samurai Red Carpet arrival
Actors Naoki Kobayashi, Sho Aoyagi and director Yoshinari Nishikori Actors Naoki Kobayashi and Sho Aoyagi
Yesterday afternoon, I also posted online my comment on the movie The Seal of the Sun.

It is really damn difficult to do any planning during this festival. You think that you finally have your stuff organized, you ask for a day off work and then, bang!, they change the schedule. Again. I really hate this situation. You really need to check the screening schedule every day (in the evening and in the morning)!

The next Japanese movie to be shown will be tonight and then, so far, there’s nothing until next week-end — but note that the movie planned for Saturday night, Her Love Boils Bathwater, is CANCELLED!

Tuesday August 30, 19h40 (CI.30.6) HC

Black Widow Business (??? ? ? / Gosaigy? no onna / lit. “Woman of the second wife industry”) : Japan, 2016, 128 min.; Dir./Scr.: Yasuo Tsuruhashi (based on the novel by Hiroyuki Kurokawa); Cast: Masatoshi Nagase, Masatô Ibu, Machiko Ono. With 4000 matchmaking agencies across Japan serving some 600,000 clients, especially men and women over 65, the pickings are ripe for “black widows”. But the daughter of one victim decides to investigate.

Saturday September 3, 13h00 (CI.03.3) PRE

A loving husband ( ????? / Koisaika Miyamoto): Japan, 2016, 117 min.; Dir./Scr.: Kazuhiko Yukawa (based on the novel by Kiyoshi Shigematsu); Cast: Yûki Amami (Miyoko), Hiroshi Abe (Yohei). Schoolteacher Yohei is married to Miyoko. For the first time in 25 years they begin to live by themselves when their son marries and moves out. Then Yohei discovers that all’s not well in his marriage.

Sunday September 4, 17h30 (CI.04.5) COMP

Good Morning Show (??????????? / Guddo Moningu Sho): Japan, 2016, 103 min.; Dir./Scr.: Ryoichi Kimizuka; Cast: Kiichi Nakai, Masami Nagasawa, Mirai Shida, Hiroyuki Ikeuchi, Kento Hayashi, Zen Kajiwara, Haruka Kinami, Shunsuke Daitô, Gaku Hamada, Yô Yoshida, Yutaka Matsushige, Saburô Tokitô. The morning variety show, a staple of television around the world, offers news and entertainment but TV host Shingo didn’t expect to be himself the source of the news and entertainment.

The presence of Isabelle Adjani (as well as the screening of her film Carole Matthieu) has been postponed at the request of the French actress. No new screening date has been announced yet.

Fortunately there’s not only bad news in the festival. It was announced that, out of sheer compassion for movie-makers and movie-goers, from today until next Sunday the Théatre Outremont (1248 avenue Bernard Ouest, near metro Outremont) will start showing movies for the Festival, effectively doubling the number of screens available! Schedule will be announced day by day, but so far today there’s no Japanese movies being shown.

Anyway, enjoy the festival while you can because it might very well be the last!

Press reviews:

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MWFF update Day 1


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We are continuing our coverage of the festival

What a crazy world! But as long as there’s movies being shown, document.write(“”); there’s hope!

Yesterday, we went to the festival office to pick up our press passes. It was chaos and lots of people were running around like headless chicken. We were told that due to a “computer problem” all the accreditation submissions had been lost (bug? crash? lock out of their system? ex-staff sabotage? who knows). I understood that we had to resubmit the request in paper (losiqual if the computer are down), so (taking time off from my day job) I went back this afternoon with a print out of the forms and pictures. It was quieter today at the FFM HQ, but apparently, they simply wanted us to email the pictures again. So I ended up taking a picture of the pictures with my phone and emailing them so they could print them on the press cards.

Now we have our press cards, but they look terrible !

REMINDER: The movies are shown ONLY at the Imperial Cinema, but the schedule has changed (several times) and it KEEPS CHANGING so please check it day by day !

Also note that if you purchased a ticket for a screening that has been re-scheduled, I’ve been told that they would exchange it without problem for a ticket of the screening at the new schedule.

For us, aficionados of Japanese cinema, the festival starts tonight! The first movie shown is:

Friday August 26, 19h00 (CI.26.6) REG

The Seal of the Sun (?? ? ? / Taiy? no futa) : Japan, 2016, 130 min., japanese with english subtitles; Dir.: Futoshi Sato; Scr.: Takashi Hasegawa; Phot.: Yukio Komiya; Prod.: Kaoru Ohtsuka; Cast: Yukiya Kitamura, Kenji Anan, Sota Aoyama. At 2:46 PM on March 11, 2011, the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant experiences a black out due to the aftermath of the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami.

So far, there are no movies announced for Saturday and Sunday. Barring any further schedule change, the next Japanese movies will be:

Monday August 29, 18h40 (CI.29.6) COMP

Tatara Samurai (????): Japan, 2016, 135 min.; Dir.: Yoshinari Nishikori; Phot.: Akira Sako; Mus.: Seikou Nagaoka; Cast: Shun Sugata, Denden, Masahiko Tsugawa. When the Amago samurai withdraw their protection of the village of Tatara, famous for their manufacture of the legendary swords, the younger generation — erroneously — believe that guns will suffice.

Tuesday August 30, 19h40 (CI.30.6) HC

Black Widow Business (??? ? ? / Gosaigy? no onna / lit. “Woman of the second wife industry”) : Japan, 2016, 128 min.; Dir./Scr.: Yasuo Tsuruhashi (based on the novel by Hiroyuki Kurokawa); Cast: Masatoshi Nagase, Masatô Ibu, Machiko Ono. With 4000 matchmaking agencies across Japan serving some 600,000 clients, especially men and women over 65, the pickings are ripe for “black widows”. But the daughter of one victim decides to investigate.

Enjoy the festival while you can because, who knows, it might be the last one. Ultima forsan…

Press reviews:

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The MWFF in jeopardy


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We are continuing
our coverage of the festival

The Montreal World Film Festival has received two blows that will most likely prevent it from happening.

First, document.write(“”); Tuesday, a large part of the permanent staff has resigned and explained their decision with this press release:

“It is with deep sadness that the majority of the team behind the festival has decided to stop taking part in the organization of the 40th edition due to an unknown financial situation and the impossibility to secure any festival infrastructure or honor any festival reservation. The team has worked tirelessly in order to find a solution but this close to the festival has decided to no longer stand behind a failing management . We believe in films and we wish you the very best to come.”

Then just one day before the beginning of the festival, Wednesday, Cineplex, which was supposed to provide one of the main festival venues for the projections (the Cineplex Forum), withdrew from the event. They said: “because of financial, timing and operational concerns with the festival itself, we had to make the difficult decision to not partner with them this year”. Most of the regular programming of the festival was to be held at the Cineplex Forum.

In an interview, Serge Losique, the festival founder, said that he had still high hope that they would be able to sign an agreement with Cineplex, and that, in any case, all events and projections scheduled for the Cinema Imperial (premieres, screenings for competition movies, big guests like Dafoe or Adjani) will happen as planned. The tickets for those screenings are already on sale.

I must admit that I am very disappointed. This is a sad and unfortunate situation for which all parties are to blame: it is due as much because of the stubbornness of the festival founder, Serge Losique (who wanted to stay on to celebrate the 40th anniversary but should have resigned and pass the helm of the festival to a younger director a while ago), as of the punitive decision from all level of governments not to provide any subsidies to the festival (because they were not satisfied with the transparency of its public funds management). Everybody should have made better efforts to resolve the situation. Let’s give this festival a chance please !

In the end, the real losers here are the city of Montreal’s reputation and the movie fans who will be deprived of a good occasion to view a great variety of films from all over the world.

Let’s hope that a miracle will save the festival so it could still be held in its entirety. But unfortunately, at this point, I don’t have much hope.

Sources:

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Montreal World Film Festival 2016


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On Tuesday August 16, document.write(“”); 2016, the Montreal World Film Festival broke its silence and revealed through a couple of press releases the line-up of the World Competition and First Feature Competition as well as their Jurys’ members. The programmation of other sections will be unveiled later on.

In a Le Devoir article (August 5th: Mystères entourant la 40e édition du FFM), we learned that less than a month before the beginning of the festival, it was suffering from lack of financing and no venue had been booked yet to hold the screenings. However, a more recent article (August 16th: Le Festival des films du monde à minuit moins cinq) told us that the usual venue of Cineplex Quartier Latin would be replaced this year by the Cineplex Cinema Forum, because road works are blocking the access to the Quartier Latin.

The 40th edition of the Montreal World Film Festival will take place from August 25th to September 5th 2016, at the Imperial (1430 Bleury – Metro Place des Arts) and Cineplex Cinema Forum (2313 St. Catherine St. West Suite 101 – Metro Atwater) theatres. For more details you can check the festival website: www.ffm-montreal.org.

Saturday the festival has released the screenings’ complete schedule [PDF]. They have also posted the screening schedule for each section of the festival: World Competition, First Films World Competition, Focus on the World Cinema, Documentaries, Turkish Film Tribute, Hangzhou Film Week, and the Special Chinese Film Festival. (But what about the “World Great” section?). [updated 2016-08-20]

You can also check our festival coverage of the previous years:

WARNING: The festival is in jeopardy. Please read this report for details. [updated: 2016/08/24]

WARNING: The movies will be shown ONLY at the Imperial Cinema, but the schedule has CHANGED! A new schedule has been posted on the festival website. [updated: 2016/08/25]

WARNING: The schedule keeps changing so please check it day by day ! [updated: 2016/08/26]

You can also check our daily updates of the festival: Day 1, Day 1.2, Day 2, Day 3, Extra update (Day off), Day 4 and our festival wrap-up.

I have also added some of the video I’ve filmed at the festival: FFM Video 1 (also available on Vimeo: Tatara Samurai Red carpet, Tatara Samurai Intro and Q&A, Isabelle Adjani red carpet).

Finally, you can read the comments about the FFM’s Japanese movies from my esteemed colleague Claude R. Blouin on Shomingeki.

You will find, after the jump, a list of all Japanese movies announced so far (of course, more details and links will be added as the information become available).

[Updated: 2016/08/18, 2016/08/20, 2016/08/24, 2016/08/25, 2016/08/26, 2016-08-30, 2016-08-31, 2016-09-04, 2016-09-09, 2016-09-19]

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Educational manga

What makes manga so interesting is that they can not only be used for entertainment but many of them also have a great educational value. I have already talked about manga adaptations of literary classics as well as of my interest for historical manga like The Rose of Versailles by Riyoko Ikeda, which is set in the prelude to the French revolution, or The Tale of Genji (adapted in manga by several mangaka, particularly Waki Yamato, Miyako Maki, Egawa Tatsuya), which is a romance story set at the Japanese royal court of the Heian era. It has long been thought that educational manga (and particularly historical manga or manga set in an historical context) were not popular, but recent successes (titles like Cesare, Emma, Rurouni Kenshin, Thermae Romae, or Vinland Saga come to mind) have proved that wrong. But, there’s more to this.

A few days ago, I was watching the news on NHK World and there was a report on a manga series about the History of Japan (unfortunately the report has no equivalent on the station’s website either as a written article or a streaming video that I can link to). This is another type of great educational manga that helped sparks a renewed interest in Japanese history but it is also used by public and “cram” schools to teach history.

I found this concept of Japanese history educational manga so interesting that I decided to research it a little further to get more details and discovered that at least three great publishers had released their own series about the history of Japan.

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R.I.P. Joël Champetier

Joel Champetier, Boréal 2008Joël Champetier est décédé d’une façon paisible durant la nuit du 30 mai. Je l’ai appris samedi matin par un coup de téléphone de Pascale Raud.

Il a vaillamment combattu la leucémie. Après de longues recherches afin de trouver un donneur compatible pour une greffe de moelle osseuse, il a dû subir plusieurs traitements expérimentaux afin de faire reculer suffisamment la leucémie pour permettre la greffe. Après de nombreux revers, il a du se rendre à l’évidence: les traitements étaient inefficaces. Le 19 avril il s’est donc résigné avec une certaine sérénité à attendre la fin. Le 25 mai, il a décidé d’interrompre les transfusions de plaquettes et de sang et de s’en remettre aux soins palliatifs. Dans la dernière semaine, son état s’est rapidement détérioré. Nous savions tous que la fin était proche. Le 30 mai, il s’est paisiblement éteins dans son sommeil et a finalement trouvé la paix. [Photo prise à Boréal 2008]

J’offre donc toutes mes sincères condoléances à sa famille, ses amis et ses lecteurs, mais tout particulièrement à sa courageuse compagne, Valérie Bédard.

Nous nous sommes rencontré, je crois, à l’un des ateliers d’écriture d’Élisabeth Vonarburg en 1981 et j’ai continué de le voir sporadiquement, de Boréal en Boréal. À mon grand regret, sans doute à cause de ma nature timide, je ne le connaissais pas très bien mais j’ai toujours grandement admiré tant sa personnalité affable et enjouée que son talent indéniable. J’ai eu le grand honneur de publier (sous la direction littéraire de Yves Meynard) deux de ses textes: “Les vents du temps” (dans Samizdat 8, 1987) et “Karyotype 47, XX, +21” (dans l’anthologie Sous des soleils étrangers, 1989). C’est la seconde fois que la leucémie emporte quelqu’un que je connais.

Une cérémonie de commémoration aura lieu à St-Séverin-de-Proulxville dimanche le 7 juin 2015 à 15h30. Pour en savoir plus ou pour rendre hommage à la mémoire de cet auteur des éditions Alire qu’on a parfois qualifié d’être le «Stephen King québécois» vous pouvez vous rendre sur la page Facebook de Joël Champetier.

De nombreux hommages lui ont déjà été rendu tant sur les blogues d’adeptes de la SFFQ (Culture des futurs, Frédérick Durand, Fractale Framboise, Michèle Laframboise, Une doyenne, une sorcière et un caniche pour ne citer que ceux là), dans les média (L’Écho Abitibien, Ici radio-Canada, Les Libraires, Locus, MonSFFA, Le Nouvelliste, et, bien sûr, Solaris) et même sur Youtube.

So long Joel, and thanks for all the soluble fish (and other stories) !
Pour plus d’information vous pouvez consulter les sites suivants:

[ AmazonBiblioGoodreadsGoogleWikipedia ]

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Une mine de manga inexploitée

Je me plains souvent que les éditeurs de manga ne puisent pas assez (ou même du tout) dans la mine d’or que représentent les manga publiés dans les années ’70-’80. Juste en jetant un coup d’oeil dans la collection de manga en Japonais de mon épouse je trouve facilement une dizaine d’excellent manga shōjo ou josei qui n’ont jamais été traduit en français ou en anglais. La plupart de ces titres ont été créé par des membres du fameux “Groupe de l’an 24” (des mangaka nées en Showa 24 [1949], ou à la même époque, incluant par exemple Moto Hagio, Keiko Takemiya, Toshie Kihara, Minori Kimura, Yumiko Ōshima, Nanae Sasaya, Ryōko Yamagishi et même Riyoko Ikeda).

Dans l’après-guerre, les gens n’avaient pas vraiment le goût de lire des histoires introspectives sur le Japon alors on a produit beaucoup de manga historiques qui se situaient principalement en Europe. Cette génération d’artistes a grandement contribué à développer le style riche et élégant du manga shōjo. Bien sûr, le graphisme du manga a beaucoup évolué depuis, mais ces titres demeurent très beaux sans compter qu’ils offrent des histoires intelligentes et captivantes. Je ne vois donc pas pourquoi on ne les traduirait pas afin de les rendre accessible aux lecteurs d’aujourd’hui. En voici quelques exemples:

Continuez après le saut de page >>
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Manga de Dokuha

Ma lecture récente de La Bible (2): Le Nouveau Testament m’a fait découvrir la collection Manga de Dokuha (et c’est sans doute la seule bonne chose que m’a apporté la lecture de ce manga).

J’ai souvent entendu parlé de classiques de la littérature adaptés en manga (ça n’a rien de nouveau: Tezuka a adapté Crimes et châtiments de Dostoïevski et le classique japonais Le dit du Genji [Genji monogatari] a aussi connu maintes adaptations). Mais quand il était question de titres comme Das Kapital de Marx ou Mein Kampf d’Hitler, je me disais qu’il fallait vraiment que je lise ça. Ce que j’ignorais c’est que la plupart de ces adaptations manga de grands classiques appartiennent en fait à une seule et même collection! Pour en faire la découverte…

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