FESTIVAL ACCÈS ASIE Returns From May 1st To 27th

Devoted to bringing you excellence in Asian arts, Festival Accès Asie is pleased to present its 23rd edition from May 1st to 27th of May 2018. As in past years, the Festival coincides with spring blossoms and Asian Heritage Month, annually held in May in Canada. This year, the Festival's team has surpassed itself in offering a high quality, rich, and diverse programming true to Montreal's vibrant Asian culture. We invite you to join us in a special welcome to our spokesperson for this year's festivities, actor Mikaïl Ahooja.

Let the festivities begin! And what better way to celebrate than to invite Festival regulars and first-timers to our Opening Cocktail, on May 1st for a toast with the team around some appetizers.

On May 4th, Oracle Bones, curated by Yen-Chao Lin, presents seven musicians and visual artists in four memorable musical experiences. On Saturday May 5th, our opening exhibition, Nœud, will feature Iranian artist Parisa Rajabian. On Sunday, May 6th, as part of this exhibition, Hanieh Ziaei will lead a conference discussion on the place of women artists in Iranian contemporary art. Both the exhibition and the conference will take place at MEKIC Gallery.

In our second week from Thursday May 10th to Sunday May 13th, our activities open with the multidisciplinary creation Indivisible by Le Groupe Herencias, who entice the monstrosities of life to dance with the healing power of dreams. On Friday May 11th, Kimihiro Yasaka (piano) will be joined by the Duo Airs - Louis-Philippe Bonin (saxophone) and David Therrien-Brongo (percussion). Together, they present the different states and mutations of water through musical pieces that evoke the colors and tones of Asia in their concert Eau Douce - Eau Trouble. The festivities continue on Saturday May 12th with two events: in the afternoon, Intervalles, a new media artwork by Chittakone Baccam (Hazy Montagne Mystique) titled Orchestre sauvage de sons inédits et manipulés avec soin will be presented in partnership with OBORO; in the evening, the Indian concert Strings of Romance by the renowned sitarist Shujaat Khan will be held at Bourgie Hall in collaboration with the Kabir Center. Closing the week on Sunday May 13th, the Festival offers a tasteful Afghan culinary conference-workshop animated by Zabi Enayat-Zada at the restaurant Fenêtre sur Kaboul where you will find Afghan delicacies waiting for you!

The Festival begins its third week with the performance, Sophia's resurrection, a powerful and moving story of a woman's life expressed through dance and music. Choreographer, Amrita Choudhury presents this special performance accompanied by Mary St-Amand Williamson and Norman Achneepineskum on Thursday May 17th at the Maison de la Culture Ahuntsic.

Amrita will give a dance workshop later in the week, open to all who would like an opportunity to meet her and discover some of the basics of classical Indian and modern fusion dance.

On Friday May 18th, the concert and ensemble of the same name, Golestan, returns to celebrate their fifth anniversary of collaboration with Festival Accès Asie. The concert promises to be a festive one giving the audience a chance to witness a spectacular encounter between the Roma accordion, Syrian strings and Iranian percussion. The next day, festival-goers are invited to discover another encounter, this time between traditional and contemporary dance as Kim-Sanh Châu, Geneviève Duong, and Charo Foo Tai Wei perform in Triangle Courbé at the Maison de la Culture du Plateau-Mont-Royal.

In its final week, presented by TD in partnership with the Kabir Center and the Gesù - Centre de créativité, the Festival is proud to present its international art component, Perles d'ailleurs. This year, we celebrate classical Persian and Indian dance with the talented Helia Bandeh and Parul Gupta. Partnered with this exceptional performance, Helia will offer a Master Class in Persian dance throughout the weekend of May 26th and 27th.

That same weekend we host our outdoor events in collaboration with the Partenariat du Quartier des spectacles at the Jardins Gamelin. At noon, festival-goers can take in the performances of Patrick Graham, a musician inspired by Japanese percussion, followed by the enchanting voice and oud of Lamia Yared, who will perform pieces from her Syrian and ancient Ottoman repertoire. At 2pm at the Jardins, the Festival presents four incredible dance groups from all across Asia: the Artistic Troupe Phoenix (China), Ya Eshta (Oriental dance), Simork (Iran), and PAMANA ng LuzViMinda (Philippines). At sunset, we move indoors to the Sala Rossa for Les Versets Terrestres, a literary reading in tribute to Forough Farrokhzad, celebrated Iranian poet, featuring works specially selected for the evening by Houman Zolfaghari.

To close this 23rd edition, we invite you to join artists, collaborators, funders, and all who contributed to the festivities of Asian Heritage Month for a Closing Cocktail on Sunday, May 27th at the MAI (Montréal, arts interculturels).

Details of the programming : WEEK 1 | WEEK 2 | WEEK 3 | WEEK 4

Mikhaïl Ahooja - Comédien

Born in Montreal from an Indian father and a Quebecois mother, Mikhaïl Ahooja discovered the world of performing arts in his teen. He started with improv and rapidly fell in love with theatre. In 2010, he graduated from the Conservatoire d'art dramatique de Montréal, quickly proving his talent in theatre, television and film. On stage, he appeared in La mort d'un commis voyageur, Roméo et Juliette, La divine illusion, Rouge, and Pervers, to name a few. On television, he performed characters from diverse origins in Au secours de Béatrice, Prémonitions, Jérémie, and 19-2 amongst others. He has also acted on the big screen in La maison du pêcheur and The 20th Century. Mikhaïl, a passionate fan of hip-hop and sports, likes to keep his door open to a wide array of artistic challenges.

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