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This article was published 06/02/2020 (2090 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

 

Classic toons and sugary cereal at Cinematheque

Forget brunch and start the weekend the old fashioned way with a marathon of retro cartoons and sweet, sweet cereal at Cinematheque. The indie theatre at 100 Arthur St. will host its semi-regular Saturday morning all-you-can-eat cereal and cartoon party on Saturday, Feb. 8 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The cartoon lineup — curated by film programmer, writer and pop-culture connoisseur Kier-La Janisse — will remain a mystery until the lights go down, but will include favourites spanning the 1940s to the ‘80s as well as some vintage commercials.

The cereal lineup will also be a surprise, but ticketholders can expect a wide variety of breakfast cereals imported from south of the border, according to the event’s Facebook page.

Tickets are $15 for the general public and $12 for students, seniors and members. Visit winnipegfilmgroup.com for more information.

— Eva Wasney

 

Sports Club EP release

Winnipeg alt-country/indie-folk group Sports Club has been making music in “Winnipeg’s finest basements” for a few years and is finally ready to release its debut EP, marking the occasion with a show at the Handsome Daughter on Saturday, Feb. 8.

The four-piece (plus occasional horn player) released the EP’s first single, I Say, in November, and worked with J Riley Hill (Mulligrub) and Liam Duncan (formerly of Middle Coast) on the ultra-catchy, trumpet-infused track.

Stonewall power-pop project Housepanther — which released its debut album, Club Soda Lows, in 2018 — and Winnipeg folk-rock trio Honey Days will open the night; cover is $10 and doors open at 9 p.m.

— Erin Lebar

 

Tribute to Joe Strummer and the Clash

Friday, Feb. 7, is International Clash Day and once again a crew of Winnipeg musicians have banded together to create a tribute show dedicated to “the only band that matters,” and more specifically, iconic guitarist, vocalist and co-founder of the Clash, Joe Strummer.

This local Clash/Strummer tribute show has been around since 2003, first created in the months following Stummer’s death in December 2002. After around seven years of annual sold-out performances, the tribute show went on hiatus, returning in 2018 to celebrate the 15th anniversary of Strummer’s death and the inaugural tribute night.

Organizer Johannes Lodewyks (of the Noble Thiefs) is the only musician who has played at each of the Winnipeg Clash tribute shows, though he says “we’ve always had killer groups come in and out of the lineup, with this year being no exception. This year will also feature a reunion from street-punks, the Crackdown.”

In addition to the Crackdown, the bill includes acts Guns of Wolseley, Death Cassette and Mosa. Tickets are $15 in advance, available at the West End Cultural Centre or online at Eventbrite.ca; doors open at 7:15 p.m., music starts at 8 p.m. This is an all-ages event.

— Erin Lebar

 

Tango at human rights museum’s free Friday

The Canadian Museum for Human Rights kicks off its Friday Night Rights programming on Friday, Feb. 7 with a fiery presentation of a dance that originated in South America and has embedded itself in Argentine culture and beyond — the tango.

Featured performers for the evening are Argentine-born, Toronto-based Roxana and Fabian Belmonte, who together make up Tango de Oro. Starting at 6:30 p.m., they’ll show off the various moves and sounds of the tango, which in 2009 was declared to be part of the world’s “intangible cultural heritage” by UNESCO.

In addition to their performance in the museum’s Bonnie & John Buhler Hall (where snacks and a cash bar will be available), Tango de Oro will also host facilitate a drop-in introduction to tango for dancers of all skills — including beginners.

Those inclined to skip the lessons can explore the musuem’s many galleries and installations free of charge. Current exhibits include Time to Act: Rohingya Voices, Ododo Wa: Stories of Girls in War, Rights on the Job and the recently opened Strength in Numbers: The Polish Solidarity Movement.

Friday Night Rights programming at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights is free on the first Friday of every month. The Feb. 7 programming runs from 5-9 p.m.; while tickets aren’t required, the museum encourages visitors to book one at wfp.to/fridayrights for faster access to the galleries.

— Ben MacPhee-Sigurdson

 

Ground control to major bummer

Screening at Cinematheque as an entry in its Canada’s Top 10 program, Anne at 13,000 Feet (screening until Thursday, Feb 13, ★★★), written and directed by Kazik Radwanski, is a skin-crawlingly intimate portrait of a woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

Unlike the Pedro Almodóvar film that sparked that observation, it’s no fun whatsoever.

That is not to say it doesn’t have worth, of course. Radwanski has been compared to the Dardennes Brothers for his approach, which is to keep his camera trained on his subject so obsessively as to force the viewer into an uneasy empathy.

Truth be told: the character of Anne takes a bit of work. We first see her preparing for a tandem skydive an event at a bachelorette party in which Anne will be maid of honour to Sarah (Dorothea Paas), her best friend and co-worker at a Toronto daycare. The skydive is something of a template for Anne’s life, we discover. The elation of the jump yields to the crash of the landing.

No one says the word “bipolar,” but she demonstrates a familiar cycle of highs and lows. The lows in particular start to impact her life, with a disapproving co-worker, with her long-suffering mother, and with new boyfriend Matt (Matt Johnson) whom she meets at Sarah’s wedding. (Their relationship is established when Matt comes in the ladies’ washroom and semi-gallantly trying to sober up Anne as she drunkenly lays beside the toilet. In other words: Your classic Canfilm meet-cute.)

Radwanski’s improvisational approach is at its best when Anne is interacting with children. Actress Deragh Campbell is superb throughout, but she is especially affecting when there are kids in the scene, because, we suspect, she so intensely desires to return to that charmed state of being.

This is a woman for whom adulthood holds no joy.

Unless you happen to be thrilled by Campbell’s immersive virtuoso performance, the same, alas, may be said for the movie.

— Randall King