The Festival international du film sur l'art (
FIFA), also known as the the International Festival of Films on Art, draws to a close this weekend. They've announced a good number of additional screenings to augment the schedule. Bonus screenings include
opening night film Sur les Traces de Marguerite Yourcenar, the fashion profile
Jean Paul Gaultier ou les codes bouleversés, a look at the Bauhaus school in
Bauhaus - Model and Myth, and Montreal music films
MTL Punk - La première vague (The First Wave) /
Karkwa: Les Cendres de Verre.
I've thoroughly enjoyed all the films that I've caught so far and I've been very impressed with the range of programming. As an Arts lover, it's been an embarrassment of riches and there are simply too many good films on offer.
The Tribute to Melvyn Bragg series has been a real eye-opener. Unfortunately, I missed the Masterclass with Melvyn Bragg, but the films themselves have all been fantastic. Bragg made some 750 documentary portraits of artists over a 33-year period for the BBC's
The South Bank Show. Most were shot on film and he is a terrific interviewer.
Norman Mailer and Harold Pinter are articulate and engaging as you'd expect. The conductor Sir John Barbirolli is lively and fascinating to watch in action. He manages a rare interview with Ingmar Bergman, who I must admit I'd never seen before, and he offeres great insights into his own films. Francis Bacon was an oddity - not very eloquent, and increasingly drunk as the show progresses - but Bragg helps him along with smart questions that elicit Bacon's full agreement. Strangely, he completely glosses over Bacon's frank admission "I like men!" as that show was done in the 80s. Bragg's own brilliant editing does a fine job of drawing out the meaning of Bacon's work by showing them alongside their subjects or comparable photographs.
