FIFA 2014

One of the many reasons to love Montreal is its annual "Festival International du Film sur l'Art". In its 32nd year, FIFA presents 270 films from 34 countries, from March 20 - 30, in a number of downtown venues.

The Riviera, A History in Pictures: Painting Pictures

Its bilingual website allows you to search for films by subject, title and date. Films are offered in French and/or English, or are sub-titled in one of these languages. Tickets and passes may be purchased through the website.

Subjects of films include Canadian painter Alex Colville, Dutch weaver Claudy Jongstra, pop artist Andy Warhol, British painter Lucian Freud and Norwegian artist Edvard Munch.

Herb & Dorothy 50x50 tells the story of an American couple of modest means, who began to collect contemporary art in the 1960's. They amassed a collection of over 5000 works of art, which they have donated to museums all over the U.S.

Then there are films about musician Jimi Hendrix, poet Carl Sandburg, and dancer Rudolf Nureyev.

For me, a must-see are two films documenting the art scene on the French Riviera in the late 19th century and into the 20th. The Riviera, A History in Pictures: Painting Pictures and The Riviera, A History in Pictures: The Golden Era document a period in the lives and work of Cézanne, Monet, Renoir, Matisse, Picasso, Dufy, Léger and others. Two hours on the Côte d'Azur sounds about right as winter persists in Montreal.