Arts

Four Inuit youth spent a summer interviewing elders and government officials learning about their history from those who lived it.

The result, a feature length documentary to be screened for the first time in Canada at Carleton and hopefully it’s only the beginning, the director said.

“It was about educating young people about what the Inuit journey’s been like and how they were able to take on a very large bureaucracy and change it,” said Kath Clarida, director and co-creator of the film.

One woman, five characters and a story that never gets old.  The award-winning solo play blood.claat: one ooman story has finally found its way to Ottawa.

Since its creation in 2004, blood.claat has been seen on numerous Canadian stages, including a recent appearance at Vancouver’s Magnetic North Theatre Festival and productions in Montreal and Victoria, B.C. But the show’s creator and only actor, d’bi.young anitafrika, said each performance of blood.claat is a new and distinct experience.

The women began by listing off a handful of names that women around the world use for their “down there” – cunt, poonanie or coochi snorcher to name a few.

“In Ottawa we call [the vagina] a salty prime minister,” one cast member stated.

“But when a woman is going through a dry spell she calls it a prorogue of Parliament!” another actress added.

The crowd was full of laughter and tears all weekend long as the Vagina Monologues were performed at Carleton.

Half the Sky LIVE, an interactive film event discussing “the most important movement of our time” – to make women full-pledged members of society around the world – was screened in hundreds of cinemas across North America, including one in Ottawa, March 4.

Screenings coincided with the marking of International Women’s Day, an occasion which celebrated its 100th anniversary March 8.

The event was organized by CARE, a global humanitarian organization concerned with empowering marginalized women.

 Wilco

National Arts Centre

March 1, 2010

4/5 Stars

On two occasions when asking friends if they wanted to go see Wilco, I got the same response: “What’s Wilco?”

Fair enough.

It’s not exactly your standard band name, but its true meaning makes for a good laugh: Wilco stands for will comply - not exactly what the concept of rock ’n’ roll is rooted in.

And Wilco is no standard band either.