April 2012

The Top 5 Montréal symbols: outdoor staircases, the Olympic Stadium, the Montréal Canadiens, Old Montréal, and the Mount Royal Cross

For immediate release

After having chosen the symbols that best represent Montréal, Pointe-à-Callière is asking the public to vote for the films that best showcase the city.

Montréal, March 26, 2012 – The five symbols that best represent Montréal, as chosen by web users in a public survey conducted by Pointe-à-Callière on February 13, are Montréal’s outdoor staircases, the Olympic Stadium, the Canadiens hockey team, Old Montréal, and the Mount Royal Cross. These symbols were the top picks of thousands of web users who visited the Museum’s website and Facebook page to make their choices. This public opinion survey, which continues throughout the year and covers four different categories, is one of the 20 events the Museum is holding in 2012 as part of its 20th anniversary celebration.

“I am pleased to see that the choice of Montréal emblems is clear yet diverse, while also remaining true to the reality of locals. These symbols are part of the daily lives of Montrealers and part of the city’s history. Both Montrealers and tourists will recognize themselves in these choices,” says the Executive Director of Pointe-à-Callière, Francine Lelièvre.

Cinema: Montréal – see it!
Starting today, Pointe-à-Callière, the Montréal Museum of Archaeology and History, is calling on web users to share their picks for the films that best showcase Montréal. The city has often played a starring role in the movies—neighbourhoods, people, and specific locations have found their way onto the big screen. What films were most significant? Which ones were the best visual showcases for Québec’s metropolis? Denys Arcand’s Jésus de Montréal, André Turpin’s Un crabe dans la tête, or Jean-Claude Lauzon’s Un zoo la nuit? It will be hard to pick from among the list of over thirty films, compiled in collaboration with the Cinémathèque québécoise and Mediafilm, the press agency specializing in film.

“There are two reasons why Montréal is a city of cinema. First of all, because it is a major hub for film education and production. And second, because its four distinct seasons and its very diverse insular landscape—with the river, the mountain, the port, the old city, and the bridges—give it a truly unique photogenic personality,” adds Martin Bilodeau, editor-in-chief at Mediafilm.ca and critic for Le Devoir.

To take part in the survey, web users simply need to go to Pointe-à-Callière’s website or Facebook page and click on the Montréal Faves link. They will then see a list of over thirty films from which they will be asked to select five. Participants will have a chance to win prizes in random drawings held in the fall. Rules and details are available on the Museum’s website.

Montréal – live it!
A sports oriented list will be posted later in the spring. Throughout its history, Montréal has often marched to the beat of great sporting events. Fans in Montréal have been able to experience numerous memorable moments in their favourite sports. One need only think of the intensity of the Summit Series between the Canadian and Soviet hockey teams in 1972, or of Nadia Comaneci’s incredible performance at the 1976 Olympic games. There are a great many to choose from. What memorable sporting events will make Pointe-à-Callière’s list?

Montréal – hear it!
Finally, in summer, the list of Montréal songs is sure to please music lovers. A song, a refrain… Artists from home and abroad have long sung about Montréal. What song best evokes the city? Some thirty songs will be suggested, and web users will make the final choices. From Le blues de la métropole by Beau Dommage to Rue Ontario by Bernard Adamus, the range of styles is diverse, but each song, in its own way, vividly illustrates a facet of Montréal.

Here is the list of films from which the public will be asked to select those that best visually showcase the city:

À tout prendre (Take It All)
Directed by Claude Jutra, 1963

La vie heureuse de Léopold Z
(The Merry World of Leopold Z)Directed by Gilles Carle, 1965

Réjeanne Padovani
Directed by Denys Arcand, 1973

The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz
Directed by Ted Kotcheff, 1974

Il était une fois dans l’Est (Once Upon a Time in the East)
Directed by André Brassard, 1974

Les Ordres (Orders)
Directed by Michel Brault, 1974

L’eau chaude, l’eau frette (A Pacemaker and a Sidecar)
Directed by André Forcier, 1976

Bonheur d’occasion (The Tin Flute)
Directed by Claude Fournier, 1983

Sonatine
Directed by Micheline Lanctôt, 1983

Anne Trister
Directed by Léa Pool, 1986

Pouvoir intime (Blind Trust)
Directed by Yves Simoneau, 1986

Un zoo la nuit (Night Zoo)
Directed by Jean-Claude Lauzon, 1987

Cruising Bar (Meet Market)
Directed by Robert Ménard, 1989

Jésus de Montréal (Jesus of Montreal)
Directed by Denys Arcand, 1989

Montréal vu par... (Montreal Sextet)
Directed by Denys Arcand, Atom Egoyan, Michel Brault, Jacques Leduc, Léa Pool, Patricia Rozema, 1991

Nelligan
Directed by Robert Favreau, 1991

Eldorado
Directed by Charles Binamé, 1995

Joyeux Calvaire (Poverty and Other Delights)
Directed by Denys Arcand, 1996

Cosmos
Directed by Jennifer Alleyn, Manon Briand, Marie-Julie Dallaire, 1997

C’t’à ton tour Laura Cadieux (It's Your Turn, Laura)
Directed by Denise Filiatrault, 1998

Hochelaga
Directed by Michel Jetté, 2000

Maelström
Directed by Denis Villeneuve, 2000

L’Ange de goudron (Tar Angel)
Directed by Denis Chouinard, 2001

Un crabe dans la tête (Soft Shell Man)
Directed by André Turpin, 2001

Mambo Italiano
Directed by Émile Gaudreault, 2003

Les Aimants (Love and Magnets)
Directed by Yves Pelletier, 2004

Monica la Mitraille (Machine Gun Molly)
Directed by Pierre Houle, 2004

Bon Cop, Bad Cop
Directed by Érik Canuel, 2006

Un été sans point ni coup sûr (A No-Hit No-Run Summer)
Directed by Francis Leclerc, 2008

The Trotsky
Directed by Jacob Tierney, 2009

Barney’s Version
Directed by Richard J. Lewis, 2010

Le bonheur des autres
Directed by Jean-Philippe Pearson, 2011

Funkytown
Directed by Daniel Roby, 2011

About Pointe-à-Callière
Pointe-à-Callière is the only major archaeology museum in all of Québec and Canada; its museum complex rises above a concentrated number of national historic and archaeological sites that illustrate large parts of the history of Montréal, Québec, and Canada. It opened in 1992, on the occasion of the 350th anniversary of the founding of Montréal. Pointe-à-Callière’s mission is to raise awareness and foster an appreciation of Montréal’s history, and to forge bonds with regional, national, and international networks concerned with archaeology, history, and urban issues.

The Museum is subsidized by the City of Montréal.

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