by MATTHEW HAYS

"Montrealers will certainly recognize the buskers," Mila Aung-Thwin tells me. The filmmaker is currently putting the finishing touches on his hour-long documentary, Music for a Blue Train, which profiles an array of the city's metro musical performers.

A broad range of musical acts appear, from Bad News Brown to tenor Alexander Burger, all of whom are committed to their gigs in the city's subway system. Aung-Thwin says he was surprised by some elements of this underground culture. For example, buskers must arrive early each day and put their name on a waiting list to get a spot in the subway. Montreal buskers get their coveted spots on a first-come, first-serve basis and do not have to face auditions, unlike their brethren in Toronto, and a proposal to shift to that system is one of the debates that Aung-Thwin captures with his camera.

"These musicians face a great deal of pressure," says Aung-Thwin. "Some have to show up at 4 a.m. to secure their spot. And they're playing to the toughest crowd ever. I was impressed by their level of commitment. Many do get work outside of the subway through the exposure they gain there."

Aung-Thwin got his start working with Daniel Cross and Peter Wintonick when Cross was putting the finishing touches on his landmark squeegee feature, S.P.I.T. "That was a very good place to start," Aung-Thwin says. "I learned a lot." He and Cross have since co-founded a production company, EyeSteelFilm, and the two received a Gemini nomination for their doc Too Colourful for the League, about the history of racism in the NHL.

Aung-Thwin says he hopes to premiere Music for a Blue Train in May at Hot Docs, Toronto's crucial nonfiction film festival.

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