The Montreal Intercultural Storytelling Festival ended on October 27th. One of the MISF’s objectives is to establish a dialogue between cultures. The programming this year highlighted the rich cultural cross-fertilization that is the reality of our cities today. Here are a few highlights of our 15th edition!
Many Voices “The future belongs to people like us”
In Many Voices Jewish-Indigenous-Scottish-Romanian singer Tamar Ilana shared the stage with Métis storyteller Bruce Sinclair in a celebration of cross-cultural and intergenerational dialogue, as two artists of mixed descent reclaimed their heritage, ending in a touching dance that celebrated the beauty of diversity. In the words of Bruce, The future belongs to people like us.
Photo : Angel Montiel
Food, music and stories!
A Mauritanian chef, a Greek oud player and a Toronto-based singer of mixed descent delighted audiences at the Khaïma restaurant on October 24th with Stories and Songs of My Mediterranean Childhood. Tamar Ilana and Demetrios Petsalakis performed music from around the Mediterranean while audiences enjoyed owner-chef Atigh’s feast. Even Atigh could not resist getting up and dancing to the swinging rhythms!
Photo : Angel Montiel
Democracy and storytelling
In the Festival’s first incursion into the beautiful and intimate Salle Claude-Léveillée of the Place des Arts, Argentinian-Canadian Marta Singh presented her powerful stories of growing up under the dictatorship to Montreal audiences. This was made possible thanks to the Cole Foundation’s Intercultural Conversations program. Marta also delighted audiences with The Key to the Kingdom, an intergenerational storytelling show that was presented in several libraries around the city. Marta is a powerful new voice in Canadian storytelling and the Festival is proud to present her work.
Photo : Andrew Alexander
Reaching out to the community: local storytellers join the Festival!
For the second time the Festival partnered with Confabulation to present true stories, told by local Montrealers. The theme Hair elicited stories both hilarious and thought-provoking. Director Matt Goldberg also told a moving story about his mother’s death and his daughter’s birth at the opening night Connections show at Victoria Hall. And Lynn Kozack, well known in Montreal for presenting the entire Iliad in weekly episodes over six months presented her new creation, The Odyssey, in four acts. The Bar des Pins was packed for the event, aptly named Happy Hour Homer! And the Montreal Storytellers’ Guild took advantage of Marta Singh’s presence in Montreal to organize a workshop for their members, many of whom were very present during the Festival.
West-Side Stories: the Festival goes west!
In a brand-new partnership with the Pierrefonds and Roxboro libraries, the festival presented seven events in the West Island. As it becomes increasingly difficult to travel on Montreal roads the Festival brings storytelling to neighborhoods all around the city.
Photo : Angel Montiel
The festival in numbers
Of the 67 events that the Festival presented this year, 15 were in English, in 11 venues; 1000 audience members on the English side alone attended our events! The art of storytelling is alive and well and continues to be relevant to audiences in the 21st century. Thank you to our funders, our partners, our volunteers and the audience members who came out to hear live storytelling.
Photo : Angel Montiel