From a Tiny Pianist to a Giant Squirrel, Montreal Shows its Quirky Side

Tourisme Montréal has given eight local directors creative carteblanche for its #MTLmoments / Perspectives project.

The latest four short films, created by Vincent Bilodeau, Gabriel Poirier-Galarneau, Akim Gagnon and the duo Clyde Henry, are now available now atmtlmoments.com/perspectives.

“Giving local artists complete freedom is in and of itself a representation of the city: open, creative, free-spirited and enriching. All qualities that resonate with tourists and Montrealers, and that are at the heart of the campaign’s success to date.” remarks Danièle Perron, Vice-President, Marketing, at Tourisme Montréal.

Here is a synopsis of the four films, which run two to five minutes:

Montreal Quest IV – Vincent Bilodeau Montreal Quest IV draws inspiration from Montréal’s well-established video game industry, borrowing its graphic codes to present the frenzied saga of a tourist in search of #MTLmoments.

Concerto pour la main gauche – Akim GagnonConcerto pour la main gauche is a quirky, made-up comedy that features a quintessential Montreal moment: July 1st moving day. It’s all in a day’s work for co-owners of Déménagement-En-Finesse-Montréal. This time, however, they’ll have to bring more than the usual tact and finesse.

67/76 – Gabriel Poirier-Galarneau 1967 and 1976, two groundbreaking years for design in Montreal. 67/76 celebrates the icons and logos that have marked Montreal’s imagination, relics that have shaped the graphic personality of the city, now aUNESCO City of Design.

Saint-Louis Square – Clyde Henry The short film Saint-Louis Square turns the camera on a ubiquitous urban resident: the pigeon. Near the fountain in Saint-Louis Square, two courteous chess-playing pigeons are enjoying the beautiful summer weather, completely unaware of the danger that is approaching.

The project aims to give a second life to the thousands of photos taken and shared by tourists and Montrealers with the hashtag #MTLmoments. The first four films, also available on the mtlmoments.com/perspectives page,were featured in the “Ignites” campaign, which aimed to promote the city to potential visitors from the eastern U.S.