September 2006 - Nr. 9
Letter from the Editor
Dear Reader
September has traditionally been the month when we prepare to say good-bye to summer. When the Canadian National Exhibition ends on Labour Day with one last pass of our magnificent Snowbirds over Toronto and its ever improving waterfront, (see our front page) we know that summer flowers are fading and shorts and sleeveless T-shirts will be replaced by cosier covers. Still, we fervently hope that warm weather will persist and we do not have to sing the Requiem of Geraniums for at least another month or too.
This September we add another mourning to our activities. It has been 5 years that the events of September 11 left a lasting imprint on most minds. Commemorative TV programs explore deeper than ever before the actions of countless heroes and participants. Movies dramatize like docudramas what no one really wants to relive; yet somehow there is solace in discovering the truth as best as it can be reconstructed. And once again we learn that truth is stranger than fiction, more dramatic, more brutal, and more poignant then any concocted piece of literature without basis in real events.
However, already we learn that some of the creative teams have taken licence with reality and stretched the truth into the wrong way, making room for theories of conspiracy and perhaps even libellous situations. The future will tell…because all the stories have not been told yet, and all the truth has not been found. This 5th anniversary of 9/11 is commemorated in many places of the free world and governments will have their say on the subject. Our Prime Minister Harper already announced a special moment on Parliament Hill, and what PM Blair in London has planned is anyone’s guess, now that he has promised to abdicate his labour throne within a year.
While all this transpires Toronto is revelling in its annual Film Festival. Outdoor cafés are still open, fans and celebrities can be seen studying the festivals schedule, taking in the scenery; all this is part of the ritual.
On
opening day I attended a fashion show at the Linda Lundstrom store on
Cumberland – in our fabulous Yorkville area - and overheard a visitor to our
city explain to a companion how wonderful Toronto is: "There is a large
array of theatres and concert halls, galleries and museums. It is not
Broadway, but very respectable!"
It certainly is, we agree! And we truly like having 3000 professionals in town. This event is nearly as good as Christmas to business.
I already started reviewing films and can recommend a few, especially interesting I found "Other People’s Lives", a film about the STASI.
There are may other European films, and Germany has again a strong presence with some of our master filmmakers having a come back, like Volker Schloendorf with Strike and…Margarete von Trotta with I am the other woman.
You can read a more explicit report elsewhere in
Surely I will see you around in this time ahead and before the paper.
There is a lot to do in September, including the beginning of symphony season. Check out the websites of your local symphony like www.tso.ca for Toronto or www.kwsymphony.on.ca . They both have a fabulous season lined up!
Until then
Sybille Forster-Rentmeister
Comments to: editor@echoworld.com
