Hello from Europe folks, hope you are all well. I arrived in Europe a couple weeks ago for some vacation time, and to check out a couple festivals. I arrived early on a cloudy morning at Schipol Airport, and hopped on the TGV to Brussels. After a good sleep, I checked out some cool sights in the city ,and stumbled across the Brussels Cinematek .

The museum was mostly closed, but my timing was good for a screening of a French Film from 1923 called: Visages d’enfants. The film was directed by Jacques Feyder and was screened as part for of their ongoing silent film series that shows restored 35mm prints at their original 18 fps speed. A rotating number  of music specialists provide accompaniment.

“Faces of Children (French: Visages d’enfants) is a 1925 French-Swiss silent film directed by Jacques Feyder. It tells the story of a young boy whose mother has died and the resentments which develop when his father remarries. It was a notable example of film realism in the silent era, and its psychological drama was integrated with the natural landscapes of Switzerland where much of the film was made on location.”

Feyder was one of the main French film directors that developed the Poetic Realism style that began in the silent era. He went to Hollywood in 1929 and directed  Greta Garbo in her last silent feature: The Kiss.

This was a fantastic screening, one of the best film experiences I have had in a long time, with an excellent live piano score. If you find yourselves in Belgique and are a lover of films do check out the Cinematek schedule in between seeing the sights:)

April 26 finds me in beautiful Wiesbaden, Germany for the beginning of the Goeast Film Festival. This is a long running and highly regarded yearly festival, that specializes in Central European Cinema. This years festival has highlights on woman directors, feminist films and woman’s representation in media, Czech Film Now, as well as  films in competition in both the feature and documentary catagories.

I will be writing more in this in the next two weeks, as the festival is just swinging into top gear tomorrow ,and I have a full slate of 4 films to see at the Caligari Film Buhle to kick off my viewing, so stay tuned for more!

And speaking of festivals, a little later in my trip, from May 16-23 I am attending the 10 annual Krakow Film Music Festival. It will be a week of workshops and concerts featuring the likes of Giorgio Moroder, Howard Shore, Klaus Doldinger, and Abel Korniowski.

All taking place in the ultra modern convention centre and Tauron Arema,  in the beautiful and medieval city of Krakow, Poland….again more on this at a later date

One additional note: my weekly 2 hour radio programme Soundtrack is still on the air. Guest host Robyn Edgar is filling in so keep listing for an eclectic mix of music from the cinema. The station can be found at 93.3-FM in the Hamilton(Canada) area, or check it out online on our brand new website: http://www.cfmu.ca

The show airs live  from 10:00-12:00 est or download or stream a podcast at your leisure:)