Arab World Festival of Montreal: a 25th edition fueled by hope and disillusionment

The 25^th edition of the Arab World Festival is ongoing until November 23. Its theme is Misunderstandings: 25 Years of Colourful Dreams, with a varied program that highlights the values of freedom and self-determination.

The event’s planners originally intended the 25^th edition to be a celebration. “But with the tense geopolitical situation in the Middle East, we instead preferred to pay tribute to Palestine,” summarizes Matias Ollivier, Assistant Artistic Director of the Arab World Festival of Montreal.

The theme of Misunderstandings: 25 Years of Colourful Dreams is therefore intended to challenge “everything the Festival has believed in,” adds Ollivier. “Our event is secular, Francophone, and committed to the ideals of the Enlightenment and Western values. But in the face of the destructive chaos that is currently taking place, there is some disillusionment with how we interpret the world today.”

Following a performance by Palestinian singer Nai Barghouti, which opens the 25^th edition, the Arab World Festival will hold several concerts that combine cultures and musical styles. “It's sort of our DNA,” says the Assistant Artistic Director.

A rich and varied program

Artists from across the Maghreb and the Middle East, as well as from France, Quebec, and the United States, will highlight this ode to freedom.

Among the must-see shows taking place at Place des Arts is one by Algerian singer-songwriter Amine Chibane. The artist will be mixing Algerian chaabi and gypsy jazz with politically charged pieces on November 1^st in the intimate setting of Salle Claude-Léveillée. The following day, Egyptian singer and guitarist Maii Waleed will take over for an evening of popular Arab indie music.

Tunisian Rim Benjannet will share her voice in tribute to Palestine with a performance titled Sweet Rebellion! on November 5^th in Salle Claude-Léveillée, drawing on the work of creators Sayed Darwich, Cheikh Imam, Marcel Khalifé, and Lebanese performers.

On November 16 in Théâtre Maisonneuve, singers Oumeima El Khalil, Lila Borsali, and Raoudha Abdallah will join forces in Libertada. This concert revisits a repertoire of songs evoking the autonomy of the peoples of Algeria, Tunisia, and Middle Eastern countries, explains Matias Ollivier. The three artists will be joined by Persian musicians Saeed Kamjoo, Habib Hoseini, Amir Amiri, and Maryam Tazhdeh.

The following day, the same venue will host the show Strings of Fire by Iraqi oud player Naseer Shamma. The musician also pays tribute to nations aspiring to freedom and independence through literary works by Palestinian Mahmoud Darwich, Spaniard Federico García Lorca, and Chilean Pablo Neruda. “It’s a sort of symphonic poem performed by a virtuoso,” describes Ollivier. The artist will be accompanied on the piano by Marianne Trudel, and the performance will also include a dance by Audrey Gaussiran.

“These shows are an opportunity to delve into atmospheres that will sound both familiar and strange, to lift the veil on worlds that we would not imagine are so close to us,” concludes Matias Ollivier.