Casa d'Italia
Casa d'Italia
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What people are saying
Italian Film Festival at Casa d'Italia, Montreal
Jan. 2015
I attended a so-called film festival as a member of http://www.meetup.com/European-Expat-Meeting-Group/events/211012652/ . The event consisted of a BYOW light supper in which two Italian movies with French sub-titles were shown. For the forgetful, wine is available at a Metro grocery store just east of the Jean-Talon Metro station. I would be inclined to call the event a "showing" as opposed to a "festival". The venue can be reached from the north exit of Jean Talon Metro station by getting off the south end of the Orange line platform and heading north underneath Jean-Talon. On exiting, one can turn left (east), cross Berri (one-way south) and enter the building through the west wall. http://goo.gl/maps/gUdck offers a Google Maps street view looking west along Jean Talon. The Metro exit is in the apartment building. The disused main door at 505 Jean-Talon E, next to the 92 bus stop, is labeled "A". Panning right reveals the large stained-glass windows that, according to the venue management, had been sold off and then recovered and donated back to Casa d'Italia by a member of Casa d'Italia. I don't remember if the entrance is wheelchair-accessible or not. However, once inside, an elevator gives access to the first floor hall with a stage where the event was held. Unsupervised coat racks were set up in an adjoining room. The hall has a beautiful wooden floor that might be nice for dancing. Bathrooms are in the basement. When the lights are turned off, the street lights shine through the aforementioned stained-glass windows. For the event, chairs and long tables were set up in four rows of about 20 seats wide facing the stage. When I arrived, I was happy to discover that those who had registered with Meetup.com's European Expat group and another group had been assigned individual reserved seats in the front row by the venue, but apparently without regard to people wanting to sit together. Serving of the first course started before the scheduled time of 18:30. As a result, there was some friction between those who had started eating, and those arriving later expecting to sit together and asking the previous arrivals to shift over to create contiguous space. Since both groups functioned with social interaction in mind, the later arrivals seemed to accept being divided. The catered food was delicious, but I could easily have eaten more than what was offered. The "welcome toast" was mineral water. The first two courses were served at the tables, but participants had to go the back of the hall for dessert and coffee (american or espresso). I would have appreciated an announcement or an on-screen message about the change in procedure. The venue manager made a short presentation at the beginning of the evening. I had no trouble hearing her, but I felt the back row might have liked her to use a microphone. She announced that a similar event would be held during Montreal's annual "Nuit Blanche". See www.montrealenlumiere.com/nuit-blanche-en/ . The movies started with little warning. Because peole wanted to mix and mingle, and because the bathrooms are in the basement, a five-minute warning, or perhaps a countdown timer on the screen, would have helped people to be in their seats before the beginning of each film. The multi-channel sound was at a pleasant level, and there were no glitches in running the movies.‎ The venue manager said she made a practice of testing the DVD's prior to showing. Overall, I had a good time, and would happily attend another similar event. The Casa has an e-mail list covering its upcoming events.

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The area
Address
Neighbourhood: Rosemont-La Petite-Patrie
Rosemont-La Petite-Patrie has one of Canada's most prominent Italian communities, with Little Italy concentrated along the convivial bends of Saint-Lawrence Boulevard. Known for its fantastic bars and authentic Italian fare, the domain includes the Jean-Talon Market, the largest public market in North America. Open year-round, sunny months see fruit and vegetable stalls set up outside the main chalet, while blustery weather draws crowds indoors to meat and cheese sellers, spices and truffles stalls, and for regional delicacies such as rare Charlevoix lamb. While the market dictates what's fresh for local restaurateurs, visitors can please more than their palates, taking in the Renaissance architecture and frescos of Madonna della Difesa, the picturesque Rue Saint-Rominique with its cheerful homes and splendid gardens, or the ornamented thoroughfare of Plaza Saint-Hubert.
How to get there
  • Jean-Talon • 1 min walk
  • De Castelnau • 8 min walk
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Peter J
Montreal, Canada25 contributions
Jan. 2015 • Solo
I attended a so-called film festival as a member of
http://www.meetup.com/European-Expat-Meeting-Group/events/211012652/ . The event consisted of a BYOW light supper in which two Italian movies with French sub-titles were shown. For the forgetful, wine is available at a Metro grocery store just east of the Jean-Talon Metro station. I would be inclined to call the event a "showing" as opposed to a "festival".

The venue can be reached from the north exit of Jean Talon Metro station by getting off the south end of the Orange line platform and heading north underneath Jean-Talon. On exiting, one can turn left (east), cross Berri (one-way south) and enter the building through the west wall. http://goo.gl/maps/gUdck offers a Google Maps street view looking west along Jean Talon. The Metro exit is in the apartment building. The disused main door at 505 Jean-Talon E, next to the 92 bus stop, is labeled "A". Panning right reveals the large stained-glass windows that, according to the venue management, had been sold off and then recovered and donated back to Casa d'Italia by a member of Casa d'Italia.

I don't remember if the entrance is wheelchair-accessible or not. However, once inside, an elevator gives access to the first floor hall with a stage where the event was held. Unsupervised coat racks were set up in an adjoining room. The hall has a beautiful wooden floor that might be nice for dancing. Bathrooms are in the basement. When the lights are turned off, the street lights shine through the aforementioned stained-glass windows.

For the event, chairs and long tables were set up in four rows of about 20 seats wide facing the stage. When I arrived, I was happy to discover that those who had registered with Meetup.com's European Expat group and another group had been assigned individual reserved seats in the front row by the venue, but apparently without regard to people wanting to sit together. Serving of the first course started before the scheduled time of 18:30. As a result, there was some friction between those who had started eating, and those arriving later expecting to sit together and asking the previous arrivals to shift over to create contiguous space. Since both groups functioned with social interaction in mind, the later arrivals seemed to accept being divided.

The catered food was delicious, but I could easily have eaten more than what was offered. The "welcome toast" was mineral water. The first two courses were served at the tables, but participants had to go the back of the hall for dessert and coffee (american or espresso). I would have appreciated an announcement or an on-screen message about the change in procedure.

The venue manager made a short presentation at the beginning of the evening. I had no trouble hearing her, but I felt the back row might have liked her to use a microphone. She announced that a similar event would be held during Montreal's annual "Nuit Blanche". See www.montrealenlumiere.com/nuit-blanche-en/ .

The movies started with little warning. Because peole wanted to mix and mingle, and because the bathrooms are in the basement, a five-minute warning, or perhaps a countdown timer on the screen, would have helped people to be in their seats before the beginning of each film.

The multi-channel sound was at a pleasant level, and there were no glitches in running the movies.‎ The venue manager said she made a practice of testing the DVD's prior to showing.

Overall, I had a good time, and would happily attend another similar event. The Casa has an e-mail list covering its upcoming events.
Written January 24, 2015
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