 Hi, art lovers! | | |  | (Elevation Pictures) | | | If you’re off to the movies today, you might be considering last weekend’s box office champ, Civil War. Or maybe not, if you’ve been puzzled by all the contradictory chatter about the picture. The film is the latest from writer-director Alex Garland (Ex Machina, Annihilation), and it’s set in an alternate (?) version of America that’s on the brink of collapse. Kirsten Dunst stars as a veteran photojournalist who’s trying to make it to D.C. before the (third-term) POTUS is captured, but the specifics of who’s fighting whom — and why — are largely a mystery, and that's surprised some viewers in good ways and blah. The movie’s earned a few raves, like this CBC News review. But it’s also been (thoughtfully) blasted for its “resolutely incurious” analysis of American politics and the history of war. (Heck, people even have a problem with the movie posters.) CBC Radio’s Commotion had its own quibbles with the story; listen to the Group Chat panel discuss the film’s “fiercely apolitical” stance, or better yet, hear from the person who made it. Q has an in-depth conversation with Garland, which may reframe your hot take on the movie, and when you’re done with that extensive interview, the filmmaker also spoke with CBC News about the project. (The most intriguing review I’ve read so far, though? This one from a Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist.)
More cinematic-ish links: Another new release dominated our feed last week: HBO’s The Sympathizer. Find an interview with co-creator Don McKellar in the featured links below. There’s another one on CBC News — and Q talked with the show’s Fred Nguyen Khan. Plus, author Viet Thanh Nguyen spoke to CBC Radio about bringing the novel to the screen. Remember this mind-blowing doc about forged Norval Morrisseaus? CBC News has an update on the massive art-fraud case. | | | | | And because we promised you eye candy ... | | | | |  | Artwork: Kapwani Kiwanga/Adagp Paris/CARCC Ottawa; Photo: Valentina Mori | | The Venice Biennale opened last week, and this is a glimpse inside the Canada Pavilion, where Kapwani Kiwanga unveiled her site-specific sculptural installation, Trinket. Kapwani’s used glass seed beads throughout the piece, and oh, how I wish we could zoom in to get a closer look! For more on the ideas behind the work, read this. | | | | |  | Vickie Vainionpää | | If you’re itching to get out of the house this week, the Canadian Art Hop runs April 25 to 28, and the event encourages folks to pop into participating artist-run centres, museums and galleries (both commercial and public). In Toronto, you can look upon Vickie Vainionpää’s Gaze-Paintings at the Olga Korper Gallery. | | | | |  | Meghan Hildebrand | | Way out west in Victoria, Madrona Gallery is also jumping in on the Art Hop action. It’ll be showing new paintings by Meghan Hildebrand. | | | | |  | Hopper Stone/SMPSP | | | | | The Canadian filmmaker (Last Night) talks to CBC Arts about The Sympathizer, an audacious comedy about a Vietnamese double agent. He created the limited series — starring Hoa Xuande, Robert Downey Jr. and Sandra Oh — with Oldboy’s Park Chan-wook. | | | | |  | CBC | | | | | Writer Bilal Baig and dancer Sid Ryan Eilers are leading programs that help gender-diverse kids get involved in the arts. | | | | |  | Eden Graham | | | | | | | Toronto comedian Boman (Bomanizer) Martinez-Reid landed his own TV series after blowing up on social media. | | |  | Laura Moore | | Some of Laura’s Future Fossils are on display at the Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery in southern Ontario, and today is your last chance to see them. Read more about the exhibition, Erratic Behaviour. | | | | | Share this newsletter | | or subscribe if this was
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I’m Leah Collins, senior writer at CBC Arts. Until next time! | | | | | |
