(sports fans) Thousands of Mixed Martial Arts fans fill the Bell Centre this Saturday night for the UFC 154 Georges St-Pierre vs. Carlos Condit fight. Whether you’re going to witness the welterweights yourself or not, our Montreal fight-fan recommendations are sure to keep you strong (and well fed). Or you could just go see comedian Joe Rogan, sometime live color commentator for UFC – he’s at Metropolis on November 16. Meanwhile, out on the ice, Montreal’s Stars, defending Clarkson Cup champions, play world-class women’s hockey against the Boston Blades – both teams boast Olympic national players who play a fast, technical game – plus, proceeds from this Saturday’s game and silent auction (plus cupcakes!) go to breast cancer on November 17 at Étienne-Desmarteau Arena.

(on stage spectacle) On Saturday night, the Opéra de Montréal closes the velvet curtains on Richard Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman, featuring Germany’s bass-baritone Thomas Gazheli and soprano Maida Hundeling at Place des Arts. A circus like no other, Montreal-based international circus troupe 7 Doigts de la Main’s Séquence 8 not only impresses with acrobatics and endurance, but with great storytelling, a witty sense of humour and, yes, coolness, at La Tohu circus centre to November 17. And Broadway pizazz whisks into town with the award-winning stage musical Mary Poppins, at Place des Arts, November 21-25.

(dance & theatre ) Canadian (though New-York-based) choreographer and Baryshnikov disciple Aszure Barton returns to Montreal with two pieces for several dancers: Busk and her newest piece Awáa, presented by Danse Danse at Place des Arts. Meanwhile, Montreal choreographer Frédérick Gravel blends live rock music with wild, emotive dance in his Usually Beauty Fails, a look at beauty, love and relationships – November 16-17 at Place des Arts. Choreographer Peter Trosztmer brings powerful and eccentric EESTI: Myths and Machines back November 16-18 at Monument-National, part of the Tangente program. And at the Centaur Theatre, see Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright David Lindsay-Abaire’s Good People, set in Boston’s working-class Irish “Southie” neighbourhood, to December 6.

(movie lands) New documentary film tells it like it is at RIDM, Montreal’s premier international documentary film festival, at the Cinéma Québécoise, Excentris and Grande Bibliothèque to November 18. This weekend see Room 237, a mind-bending trip through conspiracy-like theories on Stanley Kubrick’s masterpiece The Shining, a short film by Thai filmmaker Apichatpong Weerasethakul (Uncle Boonmee) called Mekong Hotel, Argentinian filmmaker José Luis García’s The Girl from the South, a search through North Korea for a one-time peace activist, spend some harrowing time aboard a massive industrial fishing vessel out at sea in Leviathan, and see what love might or might not be in Florian Habicht’s Love Story – see the fest’s full schedule online. And starting November 22, Image+Nation celebrates 25 years of bringing LGBT films from around the world to Montreal, sharing stories on screen with film professionals and film fans alike.

(pre-holiday shop) Before holiday shopping stress really hits, treat yourself (and if gifts happen, they happen, right?) this weekend in Montreal in different ways. While Montreal’s holiday craft and artisal fairs don’t kick off until later this month, this weekend’s Expozine is well worth a visit – after all, it’s one of the largest small press fairs in North America, where authors, artists and zine makers impress live and on paper – November 17-18 at Saint-Enfant-Jesus Church (5035 Ste-Dominique). That’s just around the corner from prime designer shopping avenue Laurier, in the Outremont neighbourhood, where hot winter fashion and gourmet food and drink make for an enlivening shopping experience.

(festival sound scene) New local and international bands keep rocking the city at music festival M for Montreal. On Friday, November 16, see local (and well beyond) faves Plants and Animals at the Corona Theatre and Bran Van 3000 at L’Olympia. On November 17, see Iceland’s much-loved Of Monsters and Men at Metropolis, get a full sonic deal with dramatic, psychedelic rock stars Yamantaka//Sonic Titan and more, at Sala Rossa, while across the street at Casa del Popolo is Brooklyn-based multi-instrumentalist Man Forever, Goose Hut and friends, dance it up to the synthesizer pop of Mozart’s Sister and Cadence Weapon at Il Motore, and get your brain shaken up with the great Death Grips and Mykki Blanco at Theatre Corona. A diversity of world music makes up Mundial Montreal, closing on November 16 with klezmer-hip-hop entertainer Socalled making the party happen with Elisapie at Cabaret du Mile-End.

(more music) Who’s in town this Friday but Bob Dylan and his band, playing songs old and new (including from his new album Tempest), with former Dire Straits frontman Mark Knopfler, November 16 at the Bell Centre. American punk rock stalwarts Dropkick Murphys drive hard into town on November 18 at Metropolis, while rapper A$AP Rocky follows their lead, though in his own way, to Metropolis on November 20. And on November 21, pop-rock fan favourite Metric is joined by Stars at the Bell Centre.

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(fantastic food) Whatever your weekend agenda or budget, add delicious gourmet food to your plans care of TASTE MTL, on until November 11. Restaurants around the city take part by offering gourmet prix-fixe menus at great deals: from $19 to $39. Narrow your choices down by perusing our restaurant reviews, choose by cuisine or discover new parts of the city by choosing by neighbourhood: spend an evening in Old Montreal, the next one at a restaurant downtown, in the Plateau or Mile End, Outremont, the Village or Griffintown. And if you’re a night owl, fuel up for fun with TASTE MTL’s late night menus.

(film fests) Some of the best documentary films of the last year – and of all time – are being shown at documentary film festival RIDM, to November 18. The “15 Years, 15 All-Time Favourites” program features films chosen by famous filmmakers and others with direct links to the doc world (like Lou Reed, Gael Garcia Bernal and Philip Falardeau), such as Megacities, Man with a Movie Camera and more. In the fest’s official selection this week, see Peter Mettler’s The End of Time, Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Mekong Hotel, Far From Afghanistan, Montreal filmmaker Yung Chang’s The Fruit Hunters, Velcro Ripper’s Occupy Love, and many more. Also continuing this week, to November 11, is Cinémania, Montreal’s French-language film fest, though English subtitles are usually included – see features, shorts, retrospectives (including on Sandrine Bonnaire’s films), presentations and Q&A sessions from directors and actors, and more.

(music worlds) Music festival M for Montreal rocks with local and international bands, beginning with free daytime shows at Café Campus/Petit Campus: on November 15, see Honheehonhee, Ain’t No Love, The Balconnies, Kandle, Whitehorse, Maïa, and Folly and The Hunter, and on November 16, see Plaster, Rah Rah, Young Rival, Chic Gamine, Greg Macpherson, Yan Wagner, and Twin Twin. Mundial Montreal is also underway, with a free opening night party on November 13 at the SAT, World 2.0: Heavy Soundz and Dehli 2 Dublin on November 14 at Club Lambi and Club Balattou, and more to November 16. And this weekend, Arab and Western cultures come together at The Arab World Festival of Montreal through music, performance, film, art and talks, to November 10 – on Friday see Kamel El Harrachi’s Tribute to his Algerian blues musician father Dahman El Harrachi, and on Saturday, the God in 3D concert closes the festival.

(opera & theatre) Opéra de Montréal begins its season with Richard Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman, the age-old tale of a young woman who dreams of love with a legendary seaman who’s made a pact with the devil. The production stars Germany’s bass-baritone Thomas Gazheli and soprano Maida Hundeling and is on November 10, 13, 15 and 17 at Place des Arts. Elsewhere on stage: The Centaur Theatre puts on Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright David Lindsay-Abaire’s Good People, a story set in Boston’s working-class Irish “Southie” neighbourhood, to December 6. An appropriate experience as we approach Remembrance Day, Infinithéâtre’s Trench Patterns delves into the long-term emotional and physical impacts of Canadian military troops in Afghanistan, at Bain St-Michel, to November 18. And Persephone Productions presents Shakespeare’s classic of classics Hamlet at the Calixa Lavallée Théâtre in Parc Lafontaine, November 1-10.

(circus & comedy) Everyone of any age will love the impressive acrobatics, storytelling and humour in Séquence 8, the newest show from inventive, talented and hip Montreal-based international circus troupe 7 Doigts de la Main, at La Tohu circus centre to November 17. Science (including experiments!), comedy and improv collide in Gone Wild: A Science Spectacular, at Mainline Theatre on November 9. And if you’re in the mood for stand-up comedy, head to The Comedy Nest on Saturday, November 10, for headlining comedian Tom Clark and more funny people.

(dance talent) Live rock music meets dance as Montreal choreographer Frédérick Gravel debuts his Usually Beauty Fails, an exploration of what beauty, love and relationships really stand for in these crazy times – on November 7-10 and 14-17 at Cinquième Salle in Place des Arts. On November 9, see creative choreographer and dancer Anne Plamondon’s poetic solo dance work Les mêmes yeux que toi, at Agora De La Danse. And Tangente produces two new shows: Isabelle Boulanger’s handball-inspired Fente-toi! and Sarah-Ève Grant’s Dans le cercle, November 9-11 at Monument-National.

(art happenings) Media art, digital culture and progressive feminism combine in the HTMlles 10: Risky Affairs festival, November 10-18. On November 12, see Standing Still, a video and sound installation with performance at 7 p.m. at the Darling Foundry, on the border between Old Montreal and the neighbourhood of Griffintown. At gallery La Centrale, see artist Nikki Forrest’s show Flip/Bend, at Oboro see Alexis O’Hara’s La Couvée installation-performance on November 15, and more throughout the week. Over at the SAT’s Satosphere, a high-tech domed venue equipped with a 360-degree screen and surround sound, see and hear French composer and musician Jean-Jacques Lemêtre’s immersive The Babel Orchestra. If you’re staying at a hotel in the Old Port, like the quaint yet modern Auberge du Vieux Port, walk over to the PHI Centre for Perte de Signal 15.0 on November 15 at 7 p.m., a free evening of performances and audio visual experimentation, partly in collaboration with the Ryoji Ikeda exhibition at nearby DHC/Art. And multi-gallery art show and city-bridging concept Montreal-Brooklyn continues to November 17 at Centre Clark, the Contempory Art Museum of Montreal, Articule and other cutting-edge galleries.

(more live music) New supergroup of sorts RNDM sees Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament teaming up with singer-songwriter Joseph Arthur and drummer Richard Stuverud – they’re at Theatre Corona on Friday, November 9. Meanwhile, James Murphy, of LCD Soundsystem fame, plays a body-shaking DJ set at the SAT, Montreal multi-instrumentalist Ben Wilkins plays Petit Campus, and ensemble Constantinople returns to their Persian roots with guest musicians from Iran, at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. On November 10, get a dose of pop-punk with Sum 41 at Metropolis, while Dan Deacon and Height With Friends, Chester Endersby Gwazda and Alan Resnick, get the SAT bumping. On November 11, California electronic musician/DJ Bassnectar sets phasers to heavy, with openers Gramatik and Gladkill at Metropolis. Monday night brings San Francisco’s The Fresh and Onlys to Casa del Popolo. November 13 sees lovely Montreal band The Luyas debuting their new album at Cabaret Mile End. And on November 15, David Usher plays songs from his new album Songs From The Last Day On Earth, at Club Soda, or for mellow, heartfelt tunes, check out Allen Stone at Cabaret Mile End, while jangling guitars and love-like-lust-wrought lyrics take over at Il Motore, with Brooklyn’s The Babies, Always and Silver Dapple. Or make your own kind of music at the return of Hip Hop Karaoke at Le Belmont.

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The 2012 edition of Image+Nation 2012 takes place exclusively at Cinema du Parc from November 22 to December 2 and features some incredible films premiere. They have several section of festival programming like “Lived Lives” for documentaries, “Eye on the World” for an examination of international LGBT culture, and “Generation Q” which is by and for LGBT youth.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HitH8qJxCg

The fest opens this year on Thursday, November 22 with three films: Keep the Lights, Pariah and Une dernière chance. Keep the Lights On is a semi-autobiographical film that explores the intense, sometimes shocking, relationship and sex life between two men, while Pariah is Dee Rees’ (a former protégé of Spike Lee, who is credited as a producer) feature film debut. It’s an edgy portrayal of black lesbian sexuality and is described as “Precious meets The Colour Purple.” Un dernière chance is an NFB documentary about people seeking political asylum in Canada because of their sexual orientation and gender identity.

The closing film of the fest, on December 1, is Matthew Mishory’s Joshua Tree, 1951: A Portrait of James Dean. As expected, it’s a film that follows the life of silver screen icon James Dean as he moves his way up through Hollywood and examines the rumored relationships, however brief, between Dean and his male suitors.

Image+Nation has a nice mix of feature and short films, all of which explore the many realms of sexuality and gender identity. Some are made to tickle your funny bone like Bear City 2: The Proposal, and others take a more sinister undertone like Severed – a short about a murder of an identical twin and the disturbing way he tries to mend the loss. Lesbomundo on November 23 & 24 is a collection of lesbian centric short films. Films in this series also include Where Are The Dolls, Do You Have a Cat? and The Light.

One of the films I’m personally most excited for is Travis Matthews’ I Want Your Love. Don’t call it porn because it has much better cinematography, but it does promise lots of intimate rendez-vous that I expect will leave the audience wide-eyed and not being able to blink.

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Image+Nation, November 22 – December 02, 2012

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Take a break in Montreal this week with days dedicated to amazingly affordable fine food, high-flying and inspiring on-stage entertainment, international film and art, family-friendly sounds of science, and lots of great live music…

(fantastic food) The food-centric week begins on Friday with an array of gourmet food trucks – from tacos to crepes to hamburgers – set up for your culinary pleasure at Montreal’s Olympic Park. For sit-down meals, check out Montreal’s TASTE MTL Restaurant Week, ongoing to November 11, with gourmet prix-fixe menus – from $19 to $39 – at some of Montreal’s best fine-dining restaurants. Choose by cuisine or discover new parts of the city by choosing by neighbourhood: spend an evening in Old Montreal, the next one at a restaurant downtown, in the Plateau or Mile End, Outremont, the Village or Griffintown.

(life on film) Film festival season continues in Montreal with the French-language – English subtitles usually included – Cinémania, to November 11, with features, shorts, retrospectives (including an extensive one on Sandrine Bonnaire’s films), presentations and Q&A sessions, and more. Among the many films, see Cinémania’s opener, an official Cannes competitor, Jacques Audiard’s Rust and Bone, starring Marion Cotillard and Matthias Schoenaerts in a story of a former boxer, his son and a woman coming to terms with a life-altering disability. And on November 7, doc film fest RIDM begins its reign of real life representations, with films from around the world, including Peter Mettler’s The End of Time, Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Mekong Hotel, a series of 15 favourite docs chosen by 15 members of the film community, and much more.

(circus & theatre) Circus shows in Montreal are always an adventure of some kind, but that adventure is guaranteed to be thrilling and heartfelt with inventive and talented Montreal-based international circus troupe 7 Doigts de la Main – their latest show, Séquence 8, is chock full of stunning acrobatics and ensemble work, big laughs, great music and a love of circus arts and audience connection, at La Tohu circus centre to November 17. In theatre, Black Theatre Workshop extends its successful run of Harlem Duet, an award-winning play that spans Shakespeare’s Othello and the sentiments of Martin Luther King in a story of the struggle to gain true equality in North America. And Persephone Productions presents Shakespeare’s classic of classics Hamlet at the Calixa Lavallée Théâtre in Parc Lafontaine, November 1-10.

(beautiful bodies) International rock star choreographer Hofesh Shechter’s Political Mother is powerful, beautiful and moving – for dance fans or simply for anyone looking for a great show. With 10 extremely talented dancers and 7 musicians live on stage, Political Mother tells a story of hope in the face of tyranny – at Théâtre Maisonneuve at Place des Arts, November 1-3. In the same performative vein of dance-meets-music-meets-storytelling, Montreal choreographer Frédérick Gravel debuts his Usually Beauty Fails, November 7-10 and 14-17 at Cinquième Salle.

(east & west) The 13th Arab World Festival of Montreal entertains and informs, highlighting links between Arabic and Western cultures through music, performance, film, art and talks, to November 10. On Friday November 3, hear famed pianist Abdel Rahman El Bacha play works from Bach to Prokofiev and more, at Cinquième Salle. On November 4, hear the music of Algeria’s Hamdi Benani, at the Corona Theatre, while Zohreh Jooya and her Afghan dance ensemble captivate in a North American premier at Cinquième Salle at Place Des Arts, and up in the neighbourhood of Mile End at the beautiful Rialto Theatre, spend the evening at Goodbye To The Duels, Hello To The Duets, a concert for peace, featuring Moroccan singers Abderahim Souiri and Laila Gouchi. See the festival’s program online for full details and more.

(educational entertainment) The Montreal Science Centre gets kids and adults really listening with new exhibition Musik: From Sound to Emotion, a zone where science, creativity and entertainment meet. Learn how music affects different parts of the brain, how we experience music physically and emotionally, and get a chance to make music of your very own in the exhibition’s high-tech music lab. The exhibition is based on input from numerous scientists at Montreal universities as well as from musicians, including  Montreal-based pop-punk band Simple Plan.

(joys of music) Friday night begins a week of great music with Montreal’s Esmerine, celebrating 15 years of Constellation Records, at the Musee d’art contemporain. On the other end of the show spectrum is the laser-light-show spectacular The Australian Pink Floyd Show at the Bell Centre, while Designer Drugs and Beat Market electro-rock the SAT. Saturday night cranks the decibel level with Sonar Festival on Tour, featuring Die Antwoord, Azari & III, Seth Troxler, and  more dance-worthy acts, at Metropolis. Monday night sees Martha Wainwright pouring her heart out at the Corona Theatre, the sweet west-coast pop-rock sounds of Grass Widow at Il Motore, and a late night of dancing to the great Richie Hawtin, Loco Dice and more at the SAT. The week turns rock retro with Journey on November 5 and ZZ Top November 7, both at the Bell Centre. And Thursday night rules as Howl! Arts brings the great D’bi Young and Kalmunity Vibe Collective to Sala Rossa and NYC’s Yeasayer rocks Cabaret du Mile End.

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(Halloween how-to) Halloween in Montreal is fun for everyone, with parties, ghoulish events and family-friendly activities from Friday night to Wednesday night. Start off slow with pumpkin carving and games at the Montreal Botanical Garden’s Great Pumpkin Ball, to October 31, head to amusement park La Ronde for roller coasters of fun for kids big and small, Tour Montreal’s ghoulish history with Montreal Ghosts, or head up Mont Royal on a Haunted Mountain walking tour. Of course, Halloween wouldn’t be complete without the Rocky Horror Picture Show Halloween Ball, an interactive dress-up experience with a live cast on stage following along as the film screens, hosted by Plastik Patrik at the Cinéma Impérial, October 26, 27 and 31, And then there are the parties – check out the Montreal Buzz Halloween Guide for more opportunities for mayhem.

(fantastic food) Montreal’s TASTE MTL Restaurant Week begins Nov 1 and runs for 11 food-filled days. Peruse prix-fixe menus – from $19 to $39 – online, make reservations and experience some of the best meals Montreal can offer, all at unusually affordable prices for gourmet food. But how to choose where to eat among so many restaurants? If you’re into discovering new parts of the city, choose by neighbourhood: spend an evening in Old Montreal, the next one at a restaurant downtown, in the Plateau or Mile End, Outremont, the Village or Griffintown.

(film & animation) Yes, it’s still film festival season in Montreal! The French-language (often with subtitles!) Cinémania begins November 1 and runs for the next 11 days, with features, shorts, retrospectives (including an extensive one on Sandrine Bonnaire’s films), presentations and more. Cinémania opens with official Cannes competitor, Jacques Audiard’s De Rouille Et D’os, starring Marion Cotillard and Matthias Schoenaerts in a story of a former boxer, his son and a woman coming to terms with a life-altering disability. On Saturday, October 27, check out The National Film Board’s Get Animated! workshops and screenings for all ages – even create your own Halloween-inspired animated film using professional equipment and post it to YouTube.

(circus & dance) One of the most talked-about choreographers in the world these days, Hofesh Shechter, returns to Montreal with his powerful show Political Mother, featuring 10 dancers and 7 musicians – and plenty of rock n’ roll energy – at Théâtre Maisonneuve at Place des Arts, November 1-3. And Montreal-based international circus troupe 7 Doigts de la Main returns to La Tohu circus centre with acclaimed show Séquence 8, 90 minutes of breathtaking  acrobatics, physical feats and style all wrapped up in a tale of relationships with the “other” – running October 30 to November 17.

(east & west) Enjoy all kinds of entertainment at the 13th Arab World Festival of Montreal, October 26-November 10, linking Arabic and Western cultures through music, performance, film, art and talks. Place des Arts is the place to be to catch free performances all weekend, with evening dance performances, demonstrations of Arab calligraphy, film screenings of highlights of the festival, and plenty of amazing live music. The fest’s opening night performance mixes Arab folklore with world beats, flamenco and jazz via string-instrument vituosi Sultans of String to Le National, with openers Nicolas Pellerin et les Grands Hurleurs playing Arab-influenced Quebecois traditional music, while on October 27 at L’Olympia, hear the pioneering Algerian hip hop of Lotfi Double Kanon.

(sound & performance) Fans of experimental music and performance take note of the following. The Akousma Festival of sound art continues at Usine C (near the Village, super close to Atmosphère B&B: take in fully surround-sound performances (42 speakers!) by Francisco López and Daniel Menche on October 27 and Pierre Alexandre Tremblay, Monty Adkins and Paulina Sundin on October 28. Friday night marks the final night of the Phénomena Festival of performance art with Claude Poissant and (many) friends’ Cabaret Désir Dada at La Sala Rossa, preceded by a mysterious outdoor performance next door. And downtown at the SAT, catch the last screening of DJ Food’s graphic-novel-inspired The Search Engine, a psychedelic 360-degree audio-visual experience in the SAT’s dome – the same place they’re throwing an electro-dance Halloween party on Saturday night.

(music rocks) Friday night is busy with Aussie pop star Kimbra at the Corona, Rufus Wainwright at Église St-Jean Baptiste (309 Rachel E.), former Fleet Foxes member Father John Misty playing songs from his new album Fear Fun at Cabaret Mile End, while Swans and A Hawk and a Handsaw fill La Tulipe with wall-to-wall sound. On the other end of the musical spectrum on Friday night, Video Games Live at the Bell Centre, turns video game tunes into a symphonic stadium concert experience. Then, on October 27, go back in time with The Hit Men, featuring members of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons, as they play a dinner show at the Rialto. Meanwhile, Montreal’s Wintersleep co-headlines with Elliott Brood for a night of rock at the Corona. On Sunday, The Smashing Pumpkins return in full form at the Bell Centre and Milo Green is at Sala. Monday night is ear-bending with Sam Shalabi and his Land of Kush orchestra at Sala, while Chris Isaak croons on October 30 at Theatre St-Denis, andThe Weeknd  takes over Metropolis for two nights: October 29 and 31.

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RIDM’s Official Competition delves into topics far and wide, including the creative process of filmmaking itself via Mekong Hotel, a suitably dreamlike doc by Thai filmmaker Apichatpong Weerasethakul (Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives). Argentinian director José Luis Garcia goes on a quest to North Korea in The Girl From the South, American filmmakers collaborate on Far From Afghanistan, animation mixes with reality in And Far Out Isn’t Far Enough: The Tomi Ungerer Story, Montreal’s Magnus Isacsson shares the lives of four young people living in the neighbourhood of Montréal-Nord in Ma vie réelle, Jónsson Orri’s Grandma Lo-Fi captures the talents of an Icelandic grandmother and cult-music icon, and many more films take us everywhere from the depths of prison life to the heights of stardom.

Some of the best documentaries in history make a come-back at RIDM this year. In celebration of its 15th anniversary, the festival asked 15 filmmakers and other influential members of the documentary film community, including Philippe
Falardeau, Lou Reed, Gael García Bernal, Frederick Wiseman and others, to choose their favourite documentary film. A special $15 All-Time Favourites pass gives access to all 15 films – among them Megacities, Reel Injun and Dziga Vertov’s Man with a Movie Camera – screening throughout the festival.
While the festival’s main draws can be found in the Official Competition with the latest international and Canadian features and shorts films, the fest’s Panorama selections are just as hot, exploring trends in documentary filmmaking, the latest in current affairs, the environment and human intervention, the intersection of popular and underground culture, collaborative and networked filmmaking and more. Along with all the film screenings, a series of presentations, discussions and other events with documentary film professionals prove that people, especially creators, are at the heart of RIDM, a festival where film lovers and filmmakers come together to keep the documentary genre vibrant and meaningful.

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The Montreal International Documentary Film Festival, November 7-18, 2012

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Montreal Stop Motion Film Festival, October 19-21, 2012

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(pop ‘til you drop) Pop Montreal, the little music fest that could, celebrated its 10th anniversary last year, proving that it may be all big-time now but it’s still fun and friendly. The fest, running September 19-23, bends the definition of pop to include rock, hip hop, folk, electronic and combinations of all of the above and more. On Wednesday alone see Stars (for free!), Laetitia Sadier, Antibalas, Knaan, Joseph Arthur, and on Thursday not only are there free outdoor shows at Parc de la Petite Italie  in Little Italy (St-Laurent at Ste-Zotique), but see Dirty Three, Gang Gang Dance, Katatonia, Grimes, Alaclair Ensemble, Deerhoof and many, many more play throughout the evening.

(fall fresh air) Five Tall Ships drop anchor at the Quays of the Old Port, September 13-16, open for tours and accompanied throughout the weekend by activities day and night, including music concerts, street performers, food, games, nautical-themed vendors, a Pirate’s Cabaret and fireworks every night! And see lanterns of every size, shape and colour light up during the evenings at the beautiful Montreal Botanical Gardens throughout the fall, with special events for families and for food lovers.

(fantasy land) Montreal’s Comiccon, happening September 14-16 at Palais des Congrès, isn’t only for fans of comic book heroes and graphic novel anti-heroes – no, Comiccon is a carefully curated pop culture interzone where fiction meets reality, where stars like William Shatner, Patrick Stewart (two Enterprise captains! I mean, actors who played Enterprise captains!) and Malcolm McDowell chat with fans, famed comic book creators talk about their work and even do some live drawing, and the Batmobile revs its engines.

(film forays) The 8th edition of the Montreal International Black Film Festival begins September 19 with an Homage to Harry Belafonte, winner of the festival’s Humanitarian Prize this year, and a screening of opening film Winnie, about the life of Winnie Mandela, directed by Darrell Rood and starring Jennifer Hudson. The festival continues until September 30 with films from around the world. Two more film phenomena happen this week: iF3, the International Free Ski Film Festival, to September 16 at the Monument National screens films on skiing, welcomes pro athletes to town, sets up an outdoor village next to the SAT and throws a few good parties; and the M60 film fest, September 13-15 at Excentris, screens a wide array of Montreal-made films that clock in at under 60 seconds – always a fun time!

(art action) The Ryoji Ikeda exhibition at DHC/Art is worth a visit any time, but on September 15, it’s extra special because the artist/musician himself will be in town and performing a live set of Test Pattern at the nearby PHI Centre – fans of minimalist electronic music won’t want to miss this. Also in Old Montreal, catch the artistic, political and emotional World Press Photo exhibition until September 30. And SBC Gallery of Contemporary Art presents Technical Temptations: The Films of Maria Lassnig, showcasing the work of the acclaimed Austrian artist. And venture over to the Parisian Laundry in the neighbourhood of St-Henri (also home to the Atwater Market) to see mind-warping paintings by Rick Leong and an interactive installation by Dean Baldwin.

(stage setting) L’Opéra de Montréal opens its 33rd season with Verdi’s La Traviata, September 15-22 at Place des Arts. Greek soprano Myrto Papatanasiu shares the stage with Italien tenor Roberto De Biasio and baritone Luca Grassi to play out a dramatic tale of love, honour and sacrifice. For more drama, see Theatre Teesri Duniya put on Governor General’s Award-winning playwright Kevin Loring’s Where the Blood Mixes, about the life-long effects of Aboriginal residential school experience – at Centre Culturel Calixa-Lavallée in Parc Lafontaine. In dance, the Quartiers Danses festival roams the city with the aim to make dance accessible to all – see Florence Figols in a “carte blanche” evening for Marie Brassard, at the Darling Foundry September 15-16, Spain’s Kukai and Montreal’s Atypique collection outdoors at the Quartier des Spectacles September 14-15 starting at noon, and more dance throughout the week.

(music delights) Hip hop happens September 14 at Olympia as part of the iF3 festival: get down with legendary Mix Master Mike, Rahzel and more. Meanwhile, over at the SAT, groove to Ladyhawke and Computer Magic – also at the SAT, starting September 18, see DJ Food’s immersive music-and-video experience The Search Engine. On September 15, listen to the sweet, weird, strange San Francisco sounds of Vetiver at Il Motore. On Sunday afternoon, dance to the beats of Oliver$, Electric Rescue, Astropolis tagteam, Sipherdee and more at Piknic Electronik. Sandro Perri knows how to captivate a crowd September 17 at Cabaret Mile-End. And on September 18, Peter Gabriel comes to the Bell Centre to remind us that it’s been 25 years since his album So – and it’s still good.

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(olympic showtime) The second weekend of new music festival ExperienceMTL shakes the bedrock, well, concrete at the Olympic Park’s Esplanade Financière Sun Life. On Friday, August 31, Greenland Productions hosts the legendary Atari Teenage Riot and Jello Biafra & the Guantanamo School of Medicine, while on the second stage, Pop Montreal presents CTZNSHP, Topanga, Sean Nicholas Savage and Jef Barbara. Hip hop tears up the main stage on Saturday, September 1, Public Enemy headlines a night that includes Grim Skunk, Lunice and more. All that and it’s affordable too, with a select number of early-entry tickets going for $6 and regular tickets a mere $12.

(film movements) With hundreds of feature films and shorts from countries near and far, the Montreal World Film Festival, running to September 3 at Place des Arts, the Cinema Imperial and the Latin Quarter Cinema, including Cinema Under the Stars, outside at Place des Arts at 8:30 p.m. each night, see The Shining (Aug. 31), Hugo (Sept. 1), Quebecois film Starbuck (Sept. 2), and The Artist (September 3). Meanwhile, the Bicycle Film Festival moves of its own people-powered accord, showing short films by and for bike lovers at at Cinema Du Parc, August 31-September 1, plus a “fashion ride” on Saturday and a festival afterparty at Katacombes. And catch the surround-sound film Six mil Antennas screening in the immersive Satosphere dome at the SAT, extended by popular demand to September 14.

(street party & burger time) Take a stroll down one of Montreal’s best food-and-shopping streets during the Mont-Royal Avenue Fair, August 30-September 2, when Mont-Royal Avenue is closed to traffic and shops, restaurants and bars expand onto the street. Enjoy BBQ and corn-on-the-cob outside the Mont-Royal metro station September 1-2, while the kids play games and make crafts. And on September 2 at 1 p.m., watch locals clown around at a violence-free Cream Pie Battle, organized by bakery Crémy. In serious food news this week: over 30 local restaurants offer deals on their best burgers during Montreal Burger Week, September 1-7: choose a $5, $10 or $15 burger situation and then vote online for your favourites.

(art and artistry) The annual public art and performance festival Escales Improbables happens September 2-14 at the Old Port and at other Montreal locales, beginning on August 2 at the Quartier des Spectacles with Montreal artist Phil Allard and architect and professor Justin Duchesneau’s art installation, symbolically titled Forêt, made of 650 recycled wood palettes. There’s plenty more art of note in town too: thought-provoking multi-artist exhibition Zoo, based on animal themes, ends its run at the Montreal Musée d’art contemporain on September 3; and see the work of well-known and often controversial Canadian artist Kent Monkman, whose Miss America show (as exemplified in the above image) is at Pierre-François Ouellette Art Contemporain, to September 22.

(fashionable fall) Montreal Fashion Week moves to a snazzy new headquarters this year at Griffontown’s Galerie Arsenal, September 4-7, where Quebec-based and internationally known designers show their high-style, cutting-edge wares. And get fashionably set for Pop Montreal at Vintage Pop, September 5-9, a pop-up shopping event at 19 Prince-Arthur West, featuring racks of vintage clothes and accessories for men and women, selected by great local vintage hunters – doors open at noon and cash and credit are accepted.

(long music weekend) On top of ExperienceMTL’s live shows with Public Enemy, Jello Biafra and more the Olympic Park, there are plenty of music picks this week to start the school year right, whether you’re a student or not – and you’re probably not if you’re headed to see The Cult on September 1 at Metropolis or Roxette and Glass Tiger (!) at the Bell Centre on August 31. Though you might be reliving your high school days if you’re up for The Offspring September 3 and 5 at Metropolis. Dance the long weekend away at world-famous outdoor dance party Piknic Electronik, September 1-3 at picturesque Parc Jean-Drapeau’s Place de l’homme, with DJs the likes of Claude Vonstroke, Thomas Schumacher, Misstress Barbara, and many more. On September 5, An Opening of Doors celebrates the music of composer John Cage, who would have turned 100 this year, with four sets of his music played by amazing Montreal musicians, at Sala Rossa, 7 p.m. And Kent Nagano conducts the Montreal Symphony Orchestra in Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony, September 5-6.

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(film festivities) The Amérasia Festival features 30 Asian and Asian-Canadian films, including Pacific-Rim blockbusters like Aftershock and Pearls of the Far East, a 72-hour Smartphone Film Challenge led by Christos Sourligas (Happy Slapping) and a K-Pop festival and fashion show, March 1–4 and 9–11. My favourite film fest, the International Festival of Films on Art (FIFA), March 15–25, celebrates its 30th edition with world premieres and new films from Canadians and filmmakers from Canada and around the world, including Luc Bourdon’s A Museum in the City, stereoscopic 3D dance film Lost Action: Trace, Bone Wind Fire about the work of Georgia O’Keefe, Emily Carr and Frida Kahlo, and many more films on every art form imaginable.

(family time) Spring break (for, you know, families) is action-packed in Montreal: the Montreal Science Centre’s hands-on, high-tech Technofollies keeps kids active in mind and body, while the Harbour Symphonies (March 4 at 1:30 p.m.) puts the music of composer Sandeep Bhagwati in the hands, er, horns, of boats harboured at the dock. For a more traditional symphonic experience, the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal performs just for kids on March 4 at 1:30 p.m. (there are plenty of OSM performances for adults throughout March too, of course.) The circus comes to town in the form of Jamie Adkins’ Circus Incognitus at TOHU. And Disney on Ice Dare to Dream skates into the Bell Centre March 7–11.

(snow scenes) Eat, drink and be less than chilly at Montreal’s all-new Snow Village, a multi-building creation that definitely is one of those only-in-Montreal experiences, open until March 31. Also at Parc Jean-Drapeau, a short metro ride from downtown, where winter is all fun all the time, or at least until March 11, go ice-skating, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, sledding, ride the tube-slide and the zip-line, or just walk through the park’s winter wonderland. Ice skating at the Quays of the Old Port continues until March 11 as well (rentals available at both sites). And the famous Mountain, in the middle of Montreal, is always open for walking, sledding, skating, cross-country skiing and taking in one of the best views in the city.

(dance discoveries) Dance in Montreal runs the gamut from classic to contemporary to non-categorizable experimental. Of the former, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens presents the National Ballet of Ukraine’s production of Swan Lake, March 8–11, and Soirée Stravinski, March 22–24 and 29–31, both at Place des Arts. Contemporary dance promotors Danse Danse bring The Batsheva Dance Company back to Montreal with their show Hora, to March 3. Dusseldorf’s Ben J. Riepe Kompanie shows Love Death The Devil – The Piece, at Theatre La Chapelle , March 6–10. Agora de la Danse presents cutting-edge choreography from Deborah Dunn and Crystal Pite. See hoop dancer Rebecca Halls and whirling dervish Brian Burke at Tangente to March 4. And the Edgy Women Festival, March 15–April 1, does exactly what it’s name implies, blending dance, theatre and performance art with fabulous, rebellious womanly ways – always a wild time.

(take the stage) In March, The Segal Centre puts on Morris Panych’s comedy Vigil as well as two smaller shows, both headed by women: Traffik Femme about human trafficking and crowd-pleasing, burlesque comedy Miss Sugarpuss Must Die! Meanwhile, Centaur Theatre puts on Nicolas Billon’s romantic comedy The Game of Love and Chance. And Infinithéâtre presents François Archambault’s award-winning The Leisure Society, a darkly humorous drama about love, marriage, divorce and the meaning of life, at Infinithéâtre’s Bain St-Michel (5300 St-Dominique), March 6–25.

(arty interests) If the weather sends you indoors, know that Montreal’s art museums and galleries have you covered. The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts hosts the carnivalesque world of American cartoonist turned painter, photographer and composer, Lyonel Feininger, and as always the museum’s regular collections, including the new Claire and Marc Pavilion of Quebec and Canadian Art, are open to visitors free of charge. See astounding work by three women artists, Valérie Blass, Ghada Amer and Wangechi Mutu, at the Musée d’art Contemporain. In Old Montreal, DHC/ART impresses (as usual) with group show Chronicles of a Disappearance, plus workshop on March 10 with artist Emmanuelle Léonard. And wander Montreal’s underground city, a series of corridors and malls linked up throughout downtown, to see hundreds of works of art – photography, sculpture, sound art, laser art and much more – at Art Souterrain until March 11.

(March music) Start the month off dancing into the night with Martyn and Egyptrixx, March 2 at SAT, with a Red Bull Music Academy info session with the musicians at 7 p.m. Keep the beat alive at Dim Mak’s Deadmeat Tour 2012, with Steve Aoki & Datsik, at Metropolis on March 3. Montreal-made Plants and Animals are at Cabaret du Mile End (5240 Park) on March 10. Rock out with The Black Keys on March 13, with Van Halen on March 15, and dance in the aisles while simultaneously being awed by Cirque du Soleil’s Michael Jackson Immortal World Tour runs March 20–22, all at the Bell Centre. Canadian singer and much-loved personality Jann Arden plays the Olympia on March 14. The Weeknd plays Metropolis March 23 (aw yeah!). Aussie pop star Gotye comes to the Corona Theatre on March 30, followed by Band of Skulls on March 31. The Magnetic Fields are back with a new album as catchy as it is darkly funny, at Le National, March 31. And Montreal’s awesome and danceable Grimes plays on March 31 at Cabaret du Mile End.

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