International Festival of Films on Art: Selections

Elusive and unconventional, painter and photographer Dora Maar (1907–1997) left a unique and still largely under-appreciated body of work. Maar’s extraordinary life saw her working alongside the greatest names in the Parisian art scene. Toppling conventions and shattering norms, Dora Maar breathed character and charisma into the image of 20th-century women. Dora Maar, Between Light and Shade conveys a sensitive portrayal of its complex subject. (Marie-Ève de Grave, 2019, 52 minutes)

Flower Punk is an intimate portrait of Azuma Makoto, a Japanese artist obsessed with the life and death of flowers. Azuma is known for sending dramatic avant-garde floral sculptures into outer space, and to the bottom of the ocean—a unique artistic expression. (Alison Klayman, 2020, 29 minutes)

Through the lens of filmmaker Deborah Shaffer, we discover in Queen of Hearts a determined American painter and sculptor who balanced career and family life at a time when men dominated society and the art world. Audrey Flack’s work, delving into feminist themes, is filled with humanity and emotion. Queen of Hearts is an enjoyable journey into the artistic universe of a revolutionary, yet warm and funny, woman. (Deborah Shaffer, 2019, 75 minutes)

Combining thousands of meticulous watercolor drawings—a mesmerizing array of everyday objects—French multimedia artist Alain Biet has made a visual symphony in this animated short film. Superimposed, condensed, and multiplied, his illustrations succeed one another to the rhythms of a radiantly feverish soundtrack. This colossal collection, itself a work of art, also confronts viewers with a sobering view of consumerism. (Alain Biet, 2018, 10 minutes)

The Challenging Dance—a lively short film that documents the first dancer of color in Les Grands Ballets Canadiens—tracks Vanesa G. R. Montoya as she mounts her first major solo piece. Conveying a sense of the intense work that goes into each dance production, the film also represents a new initiative highlighting filmmakers from Quebec’s immigrant community: for this first edition, the two laureates were directors Gabriela de Andrade and Alexandre Paskanoi. (Alexandre Paskanoi, 2020, 20 minutes)

An introduction to Miryam Charles, a flourishing young artist in experimental cinema. Her voice and her film delineate the contours of her own history and that of her immigrant ancestors—a DIY poem that evolves from her words, spoken and sung. The film represents a unique new initiative aimed at highlighting filmmakers from Quebec’s immigrant community: for this first edition, the two laureates were Gabriela de Andrade and Alexandre Paskanoi. (Gabriela de Andrade, 2020, 6 minutes)

Barbara Hannigan is a renowned soprano and exceptionally talented artist and musician from Canada, who recently has begun an international career as conductor. Making its North American premiere, Taking Risks shows Hannigan preparing to conduct her first opera, Stravinsky’s masterpiece The Rake’s Progress. From auditions to opening night, we follow the journey of a dedicated, passionate, and perceptive woman, taking a behind-the-scenes look at her creative process, with many moments of excitement and magic. (Maria Stodtmeier, 2019, 58 minutes)

Walls of Limerick is a window into the inner world of dancers who express feelings through movement to escape an oppressive reality as young Irish citizens caught between Northern Ireland and the South. Filmed in stark black and white, it explores their dancing while powerfully conveying the artists’ fear and loneliness. (No dialogue) (Arturo Bandinelli, 2019, 7 minutes)

A portrait of a famously self-taught flamenco dancer, La Chana (her sobriquet) reveals the extraordinary life of this profoundly charismatic woman who from the 1960s through the 1980s was an international celebrity. Suddenly disappearing from view at one point, she then returned to her intense love affair with the stage and her audiences—after turning 70. The film is a formidable testimonial to a passionate artist whose dancing feet and hands express a still-lively soul. (Lucija Stojevic, 2016, 85 minutes)