IDEAS in the Afternoon for March 2025
* Please note this schedule is subject to change.
Monday, March 3
THE MANY LIVES OF MARIA CHAPDELAINE
The novel Maria Chapdelaine by Louis Hémon was a global sensation when it was published in the early 20th century. It's since become a cornerstone of Quebec culture. In fact, the Musée Louis Hémon is the only literary museum in Quebec, and was reopened in the summer of 2024 at a cost of six million dollars. Yet Louis Hémon himself was actually from France, and was killed in a train accident before the novel was ever published. It's since been translated into over 20 languages, has inspired four film versions, several plays, an opera — even a pop song. And Maria the character has been painted, sculpted, and featured on a stamp. There's even a rue Maria Chapdelaine in Montreal — not bad for a fictional character. Yet today, the book remains far less known in English Canada and the English-speaking world. This documentary by contributor Catherine Annau examines the many lives that Maria Chapdelaine has lived, and continues to live.
Monday, March 10
NORTH ON NORTH
Inhabit Media is the only independent publishing company in the Canadian Arctic. Since 2006, it's been working to ensure Arctic voices are heard across Canada. They're at the forefront of a new era of Inuit literature, film and TV. From Iqaluit, IDEAS producer Pauline Holdsworth speaks with Lousie Flaherty, Ashley Qilavaq-Savard and Jamesie Fournier about telling the stories of their home, finding creativity and inspiration from the land, and the relationship between writing and education.
Monday, March 17
SAY YES: IMPROVISATION IN ART AND LIFE
For many people, the thought of speaking in public is horrifying. Imagine trying to make people laugh. Without a script. And just making it up as you go along. This documentary by Peter Brown shows how improv can be both exhilarating and liberating — and maybe, just maybe, a force for good.
Monday, March 24
THE GREAT ACCELERATION
The term "Anthropocene" has been in the popular lexicon for a while now, denoting the epoch where human activity defines the state of the entire planet and all the ecosystems that comprise it, of which the climate crisis is one part. The Great Acceleration may not be as well-known as a term: it's the period starting the 1950s when those same human activities really took off, and continue to accelerate. This documentary by contributor David Kattenburg unpeels the crucial, and sometimes contested, meanings of this age of Great Acceleration.
Monday, March 31
TBD
