A tribute to the lost films of silent cinema, with live musical accompaniment.

Since 2010, Canadian filmmaker GUY MADDIN has been working on SEANCES, a sprawling film project re-creating imagined versions of the lost films of silent cinema. Shot at the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris as well as the Winnipeg Art Gallery and Montreal's Phi Centre, these haunting cinematic trances were staged as as art installation projects, and will culminate in the production of an interactive work and feature film produced by the National Film Board of Canada for 2015.

On Sunday April 27, the Drake Hotel will host a dedicated screening of four works that were originally shot at the WAG, and have been screening daily in our back lobby as part of our Winter 2014 exhibition.

The film programme will include live musical accompaniment by CHRISTINE BOUGIE, CHRIS A. CUMMINGS MARKER STARLING, and DAFYDD HUGHES.

COVER: $15 / $10 with Student ID

GUY MADDIN

Guy Maddin is a Canadian multidisciplinary artist, screenwriter, filmmaker and producer. He has more than ten features to his credit and numerous short films. A Member of the Order of Canada and of Manitoba his home province, Guy Maddin has won several awards for his work, including Best Canadian Feature Film at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival TIFF for My Winnipeg.

Guy Maddin has also collaborated with the NFB on the creation of Night Mayor, an experimental film presented at TIFF in 2009 to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the NFB. In his decision to recreate a number of lost films for the sole pleasure of the worlds cinephiles, Sances is without a doubt the most daring project of Maddins brilliant career.

CHRISTINE BOUGIE

"Christine Bougie is one of Canadas most in-demand session musicians, but she should be a household name in her own right. The guitarists instrumental chops have earned her credits on over 30 albums by the likes of Amy Millan and Julie Fader, and its this side she shows off on her third solo LP.

Bougies lap steel often takes the lead role, but rather than showboating, the songwriter inserts it into intricately arranged compositions that transcend the country-folk genre. Jumping between jazz, bossa nova and even prog rock, the album stays diverse and interesting enough to warrant the lack of vocals.

Augmented throughout the album by warm strings and brass, Bougie shows off her own abilities on the title track, playing every instrument from guitar to percussion, and transforms Brian Wilsons I Just Wasnt Made For These Times into a piece all her own."

Review of Aloha Supreme 2010 Richard Trapunski, NOW Magazine

CHRIS A. CUMMINGS MARKER STARLING

After recording and performing as Mantler for over ten years, Chris A. Cummings changed his band name to Marker Starling in 2012. His fifth album Rosy Maze will be released internationally by UK label Tin Angel in 2014.

DAFYDD HUGHES

Dafydd Hughes is a musician, artist, programmer and educator based in Toronto. He has performed and recorded with some of Canadas most notable artists, including Feist, Esthero and Jacksoul. He is active in Canadas jazz, pop and experimental music scenes through solo work and various collaborations. His work, both musical and visual, playfully explores the unpredictable intersection of analog and digital experiences of the world.

He is a member of the Board of Directors at Torontos InterAccess Electronic Media Arts Centre, where he teaches workshops and spends time exploring the interface between technology and the creative impulse, which generally involves taking things apart and finding himself unable to put them back together.