Art-smart celluloid

>> Lessons in self-expression abound at this year's Festival of Films on Art

by JOANNE LATIMER

This is the most under-appreciated film festival in town. For the past 19 years, the Festival of Films on Art (FIFA) has been graciously presenting world-class films on the arts, along with some pop culture subjects and unexpected surprises. Films on Jackson Pollock, ABBA and James Bond gave FIFA a jolt of popularity last year, and this year films on Liz Taylor, Yoko Ono and Greta Garbo will do their bit for pop culture. FIFA is the only festival of its kind in the Americas, and Montrealers are lucky enough to have access to over 180 films from 25 countries. And the achievement has everything to do with festival mastermind René Rozon.

Rozon has been careful not to stray too far from FIFA's core content. FIFA is rooted solidly in Art History 101, with a thorough sampling of films on must-know artists, architects and museums. The painting section, in particular, is like a round up of acknowledged masters and movements, including Fauvism (Le Hurler la couleur), John Singer Sargent (Outside the Frame), Géricault (Men and Wild Horses), Goya (Performers), Rembrandt (Rembrandt's Masterly Brushstrokes), Rothko (Rothko's Room), Gauguin (Savage: Paul Gauguin and the Construction of Paradise), two about Ingres, (Slaves of Fashion and Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres--Painter) and a long-overdue film on Sonia and Robert Delaunay (Un Siècle de 'touche à tout').

Considering that today's architectural hot spot is Berlin, juicy picks from the architecture section include Rebuilding the Reichstag and Berlin's Jewish Museum: a Personal Tour with Daniel Libeskind. There's yet another film on Frank Gehry, called An Architect of Joy, and an unusually technical film on the engineering behind the Trevi fountain. Don't miss the film on Oscar Niemeyer and another on Le Corbusier in India.

For a look at the new Tate Modern in London, there is a grouping of four documentaries by the BBC: Moving Stories, a survey of the Modern's most famous pieces; Rothko's Rooms, about the installation of one of Rothko's pieces at the Tate; Rebecca Horn Is Travelling, about her Tate installation; and The Enemy Within, about art rebels who became standard exhibition content. The BBC series is, obviously, cheaper than a trip to London and should be seen rather than missed.

But the best thing about FIFA is the unpredictable one-off quality of some of the entries. This year, curiosity abounds about The Book of Kells (The Work of Angels?), a biopic on fashion designer Roberto Capucci, another on animator Chuck Jones and a quirky video section with titles like In Response to the Dumbest Question of the 20th Century and Danny Kaye's Eyes.

Let's note that the jury's president this year is a heavy-hitter from the New York art scene: critic and journalist David D'Arcy. He writes delicious pieces for Vanity Fair, the New York Times and Art & Auction, among others. We're lucky to have him--and FIFA too.

The FIFA runs March 13-18; for info call 847-1637 or see www.artfifa.com