Films on wheels
BMXS, BIXIS AND MORE: Bicycle Film Fest
All cyclists, from Sunday Bixi riders to Lycra-clad couriers, need a lift sometimes. For the last ten years, one of the best ways to purge road rage and celebrate the simple pleasures of two-wheel transit has been the annual Bicycle Film Fest.
Started in 2000 by New Yorker Brendt Barbur after he got hit by a bus, the festival has since expanded to 40 cities around the world.
Montreal’s fest takes place August 12–14 at locations spaced out across the city, encouraging you to pedal from one event to the next. Films cover endurance, BMXing, great bike thieves and Japanese bicycle art.
Also on the agenda is the annual game of bike polo and the Cycle Bird race, in which contestants race through city traffic, bike-messenger-style, to make it to six checkpoints.
Will tensions between Bixi riders and hardcore cyclists come out in the festival? Barbur doesn’t think so. “In Paris, we had people show up to events on Vélib’ bikes. We even had a race between Vélib’ and regular bikes.”
Everything kicks off with a fundraising show tonight at the Jukebox (3874 St- Laurent). For the full program, see: bicyclefilmfestival.com.
by MATT JONES
Hot art
SEXY DOLLS: Barbie 43 by David Levinthal
To celebrate the summer, the Visual Voice Gallery in the Belgo Building (372 Ste-Catherine, #421) is currently showing a colourful exhibition called Heatwave. The show groups five established U.S. artists together and is part of Arts+Culture Editions, a web site that promotes art by making it accessible and affordable.
Heatwave offers some limited and playful prints, all of which comment on society’s current preoccupations with industry, sex and consumerism. The artists approach these subjects through various styles. Photographer David Levinthal uses dolls to convey his message: Barbie 43 shows seductive toys posing for the camera, while XXX 166 depicts a raunchy S&M scene. Painter and self-professed beach bum Aaron Parazette focuses on West Coast living with his graphic works that spell out different surfer slang. The romantic Christopher Mir populates his purple flowered field with dark and secretive beings in the landscape Triad. Jason Villegas’s work is peppered with recognizable logos to point out our obsession with money and capitalism. Lastly, Angelina Gualdoni captures decaying infrastructures in her piece Blush.
The exhibition culminates with a finissage on August 12, from 5–7 p.m., curated by the gallery director, Bettina Forget.
by ALEXANDRA MURPHY
Swingers welcome
You have until the end of August to catch the weekly Friday night TOHU-TEMPO soirées, which feature outdoor dance classes with a free concert. The new  summer series spotlights a specific style of music and dance every week.
If swing’s your thing, be sure to drop in this Friday evening. From 6 to 7 p.m., swing dance profs give a free crash course to anyone interested in learning the basic steps. Didier Jean-François of Studio 88-Swing is one of the teachers leading the lessons. He says that swing dance is very accessible.
“When you think of swing music, it’s the origin of pop music. You can swing to the music of the early 1900s, as well as to music like Justin Timberlake and Shakira,” he says.
After, you can try out your new steps to live music by swing dance band Walls of Sounds. Next week’s theme is “Arabo-Funk,” followed by a Latin vibe to finish the summer. The action is at 2345 Jarry E. Info: www.tohu.ca.
by MARITES CARINO
Bon marché
This past weekend, a new cultural organization hit the town running with an open-air market devoted to supporting local vendors who do not normally have a  venue to sell their wares. Organized by Marieke de Roos and Charlie Mitchell, Marché Montréal will set up shop each Saturday afternoon, rain or shine, in the parking lot of the Safeway (3546 St-Dominique).
“Our mandate is to employ an uncurated approach to accepting vendors in order to offer artisans, craftspeople, collectors, antique dealers, fashion designers (and pretty much anyone else with something interesting to sell) an opportunity to do business in an affordable way while gaining access to a large crowd of shoppers,” explain de Roos and Mitchell.
Last Saturday, visitors perused stalls selling vintage and original clothing, hand-made jewelry, arts and crafts, furniture, and exotic imports. There were also plenty of snacks on hand and a host of musicians and carnival acts.
When you think of the fantastic open-air markets in Brooklyn and Paris—just to name two—it seems odd that Marché Montréal has been so long in the making. Here’s hoping that it’s here to stay.
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by STACEY DEWOLFE
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IS IT ART?
JEDI LOVE: Self-proclaimed nerds Mike and Mike are aiming to make Star Wars  fan film history with their new web series dedicated to the sci-fi series. Gree-Morr: the Inbred Jedi invites you to find out what would have happened if Luke and Leia had a redneck inbred jedi kid.
With only one episode online, the creators are looking for volunteers to help complete the next chapters of the series. Artists, animators, Flash experts, Yoda impersonators and excitable geeks are all welcome. theinbredjedi.com
Arts hole
ROCK ‘N’ LOTTO: Pop Montreal presents its second annual Rock Lottery. Musicians from different local bands get mixed and matched to form new bands and write two songs in one week. Check out the outcome tomorrow, Friday, Aug. 13, 8 p.m. at Il Motore (179 Jean-Talon W.) • RED LIGHT GOES GREEN: The Festival de l’Expression Citoyenne presents Cabaret Vert dans le Red Light, a multidisciplinary event featuring performances about the environment. The cabaret will include dancing, music, poetry and short films. Join the green party at Club Soda (1225 St-Laurent) on Saturday, Aug. 14 at 8:30 p.m.• SASSY STUFF: Sculptor Carole Baillargeon presents La robe écrite, a collection of six sculptures representing the relationship between humans and clothing. Each sculpture is made with a different material according to its narrative. The vernissage is tonight, Thursday Aug. 12 at 5:30 p.m. at Galerie [sas] (372 Ste-Catherine W., #416), and the exhibit runs until Sept. 18.
Artistat
The amount it will cost you to watch Japanese animated shorts at the closing reception for Mess Japan at Blue Sunshine (3660 St-Laurent) on Aug. 14: $8 |
