The Canadian Museum of Civilization presents the Festival of Music and Film from the Arab World - Here and There
Hull, Quebec, October 12, 2001 - In conjunction with the exhibition of art works The Lands within Me: Expressions by Canadian Artists of Arab Origin, opening on October 19, the Canadian Museum of Civilization is organizing the Festival of Music and Film from the Arab World - Here and There. Designed, as is the exhibition, around the theme of cultural intermixing, the festival brings together well-known Canadian artists of Arab origin whose productions in music, song, dance and other media are a commingling of several cultures, styles and approaches, plus a series of films by today’s best Arab filmmakers.
In a number of concerts, the featured musicians will weave dialogues among instruments and rhythms from a diversity of Arab and Western musical genres. The group Mernie, for example, combines guitar, oud, electric bass and various percussion instruments to create music that fuses world colours and rhythms, while singer Cheb Dino and Timgad, with “raï” music and song, affirm life and love in traditional Algerian music that incorporates Western pop flavours (October 19, Grand Hall). Toronto’s group Doula, founded by Maryem Tollar and Roula Said, brings the ancient Mowashah lyric tradition to popular songs of the Middle East, while Sylva Balassanian combines superb vocals and piano in a performance that includes the works of classical Middle Eastern and European composers as well as traditional songs in Arab and Armenian (October 20, Theatre). Georges Sawa’s Traditional Arabic Music Ensemble presents a concert of classical music from Egypt and Syria inspired by Arab-Andalusian poetry and the Sufi repertoire (October 21, Grand Hall). Finally, the group El Hadi blends the sounds and rhythms of Morocco, the Berber people and Andalusia with just a touch of jazz (October 28, Grand Hall).
Tickets for concerts with paid admission are available through Ticketmaster at (613) 755-1111 or at the Museum Box Office.
On the film side of the festival, six features by Arab filmmakers will be screened in the CMC Theatre from October 26 to 28:
- 26 - 7:00 p.m. Living in Paradise by Bourlem Guerdjou (1999), Algeria (in Arabic and French; English subtitles)
- 27 - 7:00 p.m. Bent Familia by Nouri Bouzid (1998), Tunisia (in Arabic; English subtitles)
- 27 - 9:00 p.m. Ali Zaoua by Nabil Ayouch (2000), Morocco (in Arabic; French subtitles)
- 28 - 3:00 p.m Umm Kulthum, A Voice Like Egypt by Michal Goldman (1996), Egypt/United States (in Arabic; English subtitles) and Cairo As Seen by Chahine (1991), Egypt/France (in Arabic; English subtitles)
- 28 - 7:00 p.m. The Other by Youssef Chahine (1999), Egypt (in Arabic; English subtitles)
In the words of Aïda Kaouk, the exhibition’s curator and Curator, South-West Asia and Middle East Programme at the CMC, it was important that “the performing arts be given a place alongside the visual arts, for music, virtually inseparable from poetry and dance, is more than merely popular among Arab cultures - it plays a highly significant role.” The Festival of Music and Film from the Arab World - Here and There takes place at the Canadian Museum of Civilization from October 19 to 28, 2001.
Sponsored by the Canada Council for the Arts, in collaboration with Alternatives and the Canadian Film Institute.
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