Music for your eyes

Cajun culture, mighty Mogwai and super silents at the sixth edition of off-shoot fest Film Pop

EPIC JAMS: Mogwai: Burning

The ninth edition of local music festival Pop Montreal may boast some of their brightest musical line-ups so far but their programming continues to prove to be much more than just anoth­er festival geared towards live music fans. For years, the festival has always reached far beyond its main mission as a platform for classic and up and coming music artists while placing more and more emphasis on everything from art and seminars to vintage clothing.

One of their most successful forays off the musical beaten path is their attention to film. Now in its sixth year of providing screening rooms (and rooftops and living rooms) that fea­ture up-and-coming and established filmmakers, their Film Pop spin-off fest remains just as impressive as the musicians that they keep at the top of their marquee, sneaking a treasure trove of cinematic treats into the festival.

If the rollicking, foot-stomping Cajun music featured on the current HBO show Treme has really piqued your interest in the Acadian music stewing in the Louisiana swamplands, you can check out the 1989 film J’ai été au bal directed by Les Blank at Blue Sunshine tonight at 8 p.m. The film steeps itself in the indigenous music of Louisiana’s Southwest region and the Acadi­an culture it clings too.

Another perfect cinematic start to your Pop Montreal club hopping would be the screening of Melissa James’ and Kate Kroll’s sobering No Fun City also screening at Blue Sunshine on Sat­urday, Oct. 2 at 8 p.m. James’ and Kroll’s movie laments the effect of gentrification and archaic bylaws that increasingly threatens the current health of Vancouver’s live music scene. This film features interviews with Vancouver musicians such as Three Inches of Blood, Skinny Puppy, D.O.A. and more, as well as promoters and club owners that have been forced to close their doors and make way for Vancouver’s rabid urban expansion. No Fun City should especially serve as a canary in a coalmine for Montreal live music fans and club owners that are currently feeling the pinch of Montreal’s newly launched “project noise” squad (see last week’s Mirror cover story).

If you are a big Mogwai fan and missed their show over a year ago at Metropolis, you can make amends with yourself with the next best thing with their concert film Mogwai: Burning, directed by locals Vincent Moon and Nathanael Le Scouarnac. Screening in the perfect setting of the Ukrainian Federation on Sunday, Oct. 3 at 5 p.m., this film is sure to capture all of the thrills, spills, epic panorama and sheer volume authority of an actual Mogwai show.

Finally, you can plan your Pop schedule around the creepy screenings running under the moniker of Not So Silent Nights at Studio Off Interarts (5143 St-Laurent) happening over the weekend of the festival. Pairing together the visuals of classic silent films with the musical interpretations of some of Montreal’s brightest musical artists, this should prove to be a true feast for both eyes and ears. Tonight you can catch Montreal Nintendo Orkestra providing the musical backing to the 1922 film Haxan: Witchcraft Through the Ages by Swedish/Danish direc­tor Benjamin Christensen at 8 p.m. while Grimes and D’eon will take on the classic German 1920 expressionist film The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari, directed by Robert Wiene, on Sat­urday, Oct. 2 at 9:30 p.m. ■

FILM POP RUNS THROUGH SUNDAY, OCT. 3. FOR MORE INFO, SEE POPMONTREAL.COM/FILM

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