VIRTUAL PROGRAMMING
REVISIT THE HIGHLIGHT MOMENTS OF OUR 2024 PROGRAMMING IN REPLAY
2024 BLUE MET TALKS
Literature is a perpetual transformation, nourished by heritage. As the Festival embarks on a new chapter, the question arises: what will our dreams be made of tomorrow? And the day after tomorrow?
On Friday, April 26, 2024, in Montreal, during the opening ceremony, 12 guests will explore this theme by sharing their visions for the future. Relive their on-stage interventions.
Bora Chung
Language: English
Dre Lisa Shapiro
Language: English
Paolo Giordano
Language: English
Yuri Andrukhovych
Language: English
Tanya Talaga
Language: English
Marianna Enriquez
Language: English
Fabiana Cozza
Language: English
Tawhida Tanya Evanson
Language: English
Robert MacFarlane
Language: English
Fawzia Zouari
Language: French
Raymond Bachand
Language: French
Léonora Miano
Language: French
AGAINST ANTI-SEMITISM
Anti-Semitism: noun. Characterized by prejudice, hostility, or discrimination against Jewish people on religious, cultural, or ethnic grounds; anti-Jewish (Oxford English Dictionary). Though anti-semitism is condemned and even considered criminal by law in many democratic countries, it continues to emerge and persist in diverse forms. Why? Three writers, from three different backgrounds and cultures, Jewish and non-Jewish, approach the issue by way of literature. Featuring: Yael Weiss (Mexico, Los muros de aire y otras crónicas de frontera), Nora Krug (United States; Belonging/Heimat), Yuri Andrukhovych (Ukraine, My Europe, Lexique de mes villes intimes)
With the support of the Fédération ukrainienne du Canada, the Studio littéraire ukrainien de Montréal, and Ginny Stikeman
Participants: Yael Weiss, Nora Krug, Yuri Andrukhovych
Moderator: Judith Weisz Woodsworth
Language(s): English, Ukrainian
NORA KRUG IN CONVERSATION WITH ELEANOR WACHTEL
What interests the award-winning German-American writer and illustrator, Nora Krug is “exploring how political and social issues can be communicated on an emotional and personal level through visual narratives.” Just days after of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than two years ago, Krug got in touch with a Russian-born Ukrainian journalist based in Kyiv, K., and an anti-war artist from St. Petersburg, D., to find out how they were. Thus began a year-long correspondence. Based on her weekly interviews with K. and D., Krug created and illustrated Diaries of War, an intimate and powerful account that highlights their contrasting realities.
Nora Krug’s previous book, the graphic memoir Belonging: A German Reckons with History and Home was an unflinching and compassionate investigation into her own family’s involvement in the Second World War and the weight of history on successive generations. It won the National Book Critics Circle Award, and Krug was named Illustrator of the Year by the Victoria and Albert Museum.
This fall, Krug will continue her research on war and politics and embark on a new project as a fellow at Yale University’s Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies, the archive that pioneered the usage of video testimonies to record eyewitness accounts of major historical events.
Join her in conversation with the renowned literary journalist Eleanor Wachtel.
ONLINE PROGRAMMING
THE BLUE METROPOLIS INTERNATIONAL LITERARY FESTIVAL 2024 – AN OVERVIEW
Marie-Andrée Lamontagne, General Director, Programming, of the Blue Metropolis International Literary Festival presents the highlights of the Festival programme which will take place in Montreal, on April 25-28, 2024.
PRESENTATION _ 15 MINUTES
Participant: Marie-Andrée Lamontagne
French _ English
ENTRETIEN AVEC JEAN SIOUI GAGNANT DU PRIX LITTÉRAIRE DES PREMIERS PEUPLES METROPOLIS BLEU 2024
Ahead of his participation in the 2024 edition of the Blue Metropolis International Literary Festival, Wendat poet Jean Sioui reflects on his work and what it means to him to receive the Blue Metropolis First Peoples Award, presented in partnership with the Indigenous Voices Awards organization.
INTERVIEW_ 15 MINUTES
Participant: Jean Siou
Interview: Marie-Andrée Lamontagne
French
INTERWIEW WITH ROBERT MACFARLANE, WINNER OF THE 2024 BLUE METROPOLIS PLANET LITERATURE PRIZE
Ahead of his participation in the 2024 edition of the Blue Metropolis International Literary Festival, author and explorer Robert Macfarlane looks back on his work and talks about what it means to him to receive the Blue Metropolis Planet Literature award.
INTERVIEW_ 15 MINUTES
Participant: Robert Macfarlane
Interview: Marie-Andrée Lamontagne
English
INTERWIEW WITH MARGO GLANTZ, WINNER OF THE 2024 PREMIO METROPOLIS AZUL, PATROCINADO POR GINNY STIKEMAN
Ahead of her participation in the 2024 edition of the Blue Metropolis International Literary Festival, mexican writer Margo Glantz looks back on her work and talks about what it means to her to receive the Premio Metropolis Azul, patrocinado por Ginny Stikeman.
INTERVIEW_ 15 MINUTES
Participant: Margo Glantz
Interview: Ingrid Bejerman
English
INTERVIEW WITH SKY GILBERT, WINNER OF THE 2024 BLUE METROPOLIS VIOLET LITERARY PRIZE
Ahead of his participation in the 2024 edition of the Blue Metropolis International Literary Festival, poet, novelist, playwright, filmmaker and theatre director Sky Gilbert looks back on his work and talks about what it means to him to receive the Blue Metropolis Violet award.
INTERVIEW_ 15 MINUTES
Participant: Sky Gilbert
Interview: Christopher DiRaddo
English
EIGHTY THOUSANDS STEPS – THE DISCUSSION
As a complement of the walking tour Eighty Thousands Steps, a discussion between writers Crystal Chan and Denise Chong presenting their work, inviting the audience to step into the shoes of a refugee and journey into a land of fable and mystery.
DISCUSSION_60 MINUTES
Participants: Crystal Chan, Denise Chong
English
INTERVIEW WITH TANYA TALAGA, WINNER OF THE 2024 BLUE METROPOLIS FIRST PEOPLE LITERARY PRIZE
Ahead of his participation in the 2024 edition of the Blue Metropolis International Literary Festival, the Canadian Anishinaabe journalist and author Tanya Talaga looks back on her work and talks about what it means to her to receive the Blue Metropolis First People Prize.
INTERVIEW_ 15 MINUTES
Participant: Tanya Talaga
Interview: Marie-Andrée Lamontagne
English
ENTRETIEN AVEC LÉONORA MIANO, LAURÉATE DU PRIX DES MOTS POUR CHANGER METROPOLIS BLEU 2024
Ahead of his participation in the 2024 edition of the Blue Metropolis International Literary Festival, the French-Cameroonian author Léonora Miano looks back on her work and talks about what it means to her to receive the Blue Metropolis Words To Change Prize.
INTERVIEW_ 15 MINUTES
Participant: Léonora Miano
Interview: Marie-Andrée Lamontagne
French
ENTRETIEN AVEC AKOS VERBOCZY, LAURÉAT DU PRIX NOUVEL APPORT METROPOLIS BLEU / CONSEIL DES ARTS DE MONTREAL 2024
Ahead of his participation in the 2024 edition of the Blue Metropolis International Literary Festival, author Akos Verboczy looks back on his work and talks about what it means to him to receive the Blue Metropolis /Conseil des arts de Montréal New Contribution Prize.
INTERVIEW _ 15 MINUTES
Participant: Akos Verboczy
Interview: Marie-Andrée Lamontagne
French
SARAH POLLEY IN CONVERSATION WITH ELEANOR WACHTEL
From child performer to award-winning filmmaker, Sarah Polley is a phenomenon. She’s not only an actor, Oscar-winning screenwriter, and director, she’s also won prizes for her powerful collection of personal essays –gutsy, honest and complex– that probe her past, often mediated through her own body and threats to it through circumstance or illness. The book is called Run Towards the Danger: Confrontations with a Body of Memory. (translated into French by x and published in Quebec by y). It would take too long to list all the movies and TV shows Sarah Polley has starred in –from “The Adventures of Baron Munchausen” and “Road to Avonlea” to “The Sweet Hereafter” and “My Life Without Me”; the directors she’s worked with –from Terry Gilliam to Hal Hartley and Kathryn Bigelow– and the awards and honours she’s received. She’s adapted the work of Canada’s best writers: Alice Munro, Margaret Atwood, Carol Shields, Miriam Toews. Her documentary,“The Stories We Tell” was included in the Top Ten Canadian Films OF ALL TIME and won the $100,000 Best Canadian Film Prize, as well as the New York Film Critics Circle Award. Alongside all this, Sarah Polley has been writing her own intense personal work.
Join her in conversation with the renowned literary journalist Eleanor Wachtel.
INTERVIEW _ 60 MINUTES
Participant: Sarah Polley
Host: Eleanor Wachtel
English
