Wednesday, February 29, 2012

So You Think You Know Aboriginal Canada?

Quick, now. Grab a pen. What's your answer to the following questions?

1) Status Indians in Canada don't pay taxes.
2) The largest population of Innu in Canada is in Nunavut.
3) Most Indigenous Canadians live on reserves.
4) The character "Tonto" was played on TV by Japanese Actor Toshiro Mifune. 
5) The Indian Act was designed to protect and promote Aboriginal culture and independence.

If you answered "yes" to any of the above - boy, have we got a training session for you!

This excerpt from our  "Tribial Pursuits" Quiz - and yes, that's a pun, not a typo - is a light-hearted piece of a Stonecircle workshop with a serious goal. Aboriginal issues are become increasingly prominent in our national dialogue, and Aboriginal culture is having greater impact on mainstream Canada than ever before But let's face it: most non-Aboriginal Canadians don't know very much about First Nations, Métis, and Inuit. 

The Stonecircle workshop provides a 1-2 day overview of Aboriginal history, culture, and contemporary life in Canada. It's neither a degree in Native Studies nor a Lecture in Political Correctness - it's a practical, fast-paced and varied introduction to a rapidly growing part of Canada we all need to know more about.

There may be other, similar workshops available, but Stonecircle's session is unique. "It doesn't come out of a box," explains Stonecircle manager and facilitator Jennifer David. "If your organization is focused on land claims, or health issues, or history of residential schools, your needs will be different. We tailor each  session to meet your needs."

The approach pays off. A participant in a workshop delivered recently in Toronto commented:

"I have attended a number of these types of workshops over the years. This is the first time I have not felt spoken down to or made to feel guilty. Thank you."

If you work with, sell to, consult with, do business with, or provide service to Aboriginal Canadians - or if you're interested in learning more about our world - then this is a workshop you should consider.

Monday, February 27, 2012

Welcome Jing & Thank You Jennifer


Our New Finance Clerk
Jing Luan joined our team as our Finance Clerk this week. Jing has a B.A (Accounting) from York University. Jing was born in ShanDong Province, China. She holds a bachelor degree with a major in Economics from ShangDong University in China. Jing worked for the Government for 5 years before she and her family moved to Canada in 2001. She enjoys spending time with her daughter and son, reading and traveling.

Jing comes to our group of companies with 5 years of experience handling all the procedures of the full accounting cycle. We are delighted that Jing has joined our family. We can rest assured that our finances will be in very capable hands.

Jennifer and Jing
Coincidentally our favorite Office Administrator JBrad (known also as Jen Bradshaw) celebrated her 7th anniversary on February 21st… the same day Jing joined us; all in all a day to remember for Consilium, Stonecircle and Aarluk.

Welcome Jing and thank you JBrad.

Friday, February 24, 2012

Ontario Treaty Region Engagement Sessions

Stonecircle's Alex Ker, Jennifer David, Kory Goulais and Ron Ryan continue to work with the Chiefs of Ontario on a research and engagement project to gather perspectives for a potential Treaty Commission in Ontario or a similar body to address treaty grievances and build the treaty relationship. Ron, Alex and Jennifer will be facilitating regional engagement sessions throughout the month of March. The information below comes from the Chiefs of Ontario's official announcement:
These sessions are in response to resolution Treaties – Unifying Our Approach 11/04, which calls for a series of engagement sessions across Ontario. The results of these engagement sessions will be reported back to Chiefs in Assembly and will help guide in the decision of determining the most appropriate mechanism to deal with our Treaty grievances.

Please Note: These sessions are internal to First Nations Leadership and Citizens and will not involve representatives from the federal or provincial governments as directed in the resolution.

DATES AND LOCATIONS: 

Wauzhushk Onigum (Kenora): Thursday, March 1, 2012
Fort William: Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Ketegaunseebee (Garden River): Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Timmins: Thursday, March 22, 2012
Mnjikaning First Nation (Rama): Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Toronto: Thursday, March 29, 2012

Ipperwash First Nations Task Force

Chiefs of Ontario – Sherry Antone
Union of Ontario Indians – Al Dokis
Association of Iroquois and Allied Indians – Victoria Hill
Nishnawbe Aski Nation – Terry Wilson
Grand Council Treaty 3 – Rory Joseph
Independent First Nations – Diane Maracle-Nadjiwon

Times and meeting locations will be announced shortly. For more information on the process and to find out how you can participate, please contact Sherry Antone at 416-597-1266 or santone@coo.org

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

On blizzards, parks, and wonderful people


Four days of blizzard conditions is a very good test of the character of people. Two weeks ago I was in Arviat for a week of planned meetings and training sessions, but shortly after arriving, the weather turned and blizzard conditions threatened to turn the best laid plans upside down.

The purpose of the trip was for Aarluk to begin work with the community of Arviat and the Nunavut Parks and Special Places division of the Government of Nunavut's Department of Environment on starting up the Arviat Protected Area Background Study. The project will identify areas within a 100 km radius of the community that offer potential for the future establishment of a protected area that will celebrate the natural, cultural and recreational resources of Arviat. Working with Lesli Rynyk of Nunavut Parks, the tasks for the week included establishing and training a Park Advisory Committee, interviewing local organizations and experts about the resources in the study area, and informing the community about the project.

Photo of the Arviat Park Advisory Committee (left to right): Andrew Panigoniak, Judy Issakiark, Jerry Panigoniak, Luke Suluk, Mary Thompson, Olivia Tagalik, Lesli Rynyk, Bobby Suluk (interpreter).

The blizzard got going on Tuesday, but not enough to keep our committee members at home. The Park Advisory Committee is made up of Mary Thompson (Chairperson), Olivia Tagalik, Judy Issakiak, Andrew Panigoniak, Luke Suluk, Elizabeth Copland, Dorothy Aglukark, and Jerry Panigoniak. Bobby Suluk provided interpretation. The committee is still hoping to recruit elder and youth reprentatives for future meetings. By the end of the training session, the doorways were starting to fill up with snow, and the forecast was looking like Wednesday would bring further high winds before a return to sunny conditions. However, each day afterwards the blizzard warnings continued to be extended, and by Friday it was clear we weren't going to be leaving Arviat as scheduled.

In southern communities a four-day blizzard would be a calamity, but in Arviat everyone is used to the related annoyances and they don't let it stop them from keeping up with their business. Meetings and interviews were re-arranged and relocated as needed, the radio show went ahead despite the near zero visibility for those of us walking to the radio station, food was shared with those running low on supplies, and meeting up with people involved a shared laugh about climbing through doorways that had been reduced to snowhouse sized entrances (as pictured left).

The community of Arviat demonstrated during my week long visit that they will be exceptional hosts for a territorial park should one be established near the community in the future. As a visitor, I can say that the community has a lot to offer through its culture and nature (even its more extreme weather conditions), and I look forward to supporting their project and visiting again soon.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Sharing about First Nation Culture and Language

Stonecircle’s project with First Nations and Inuit Health Branch (FNIHB), Health Canada, for the Special Study on Language and Culture in Aboriginal Head Start on Reserve is almost finished. After nearly two years of research and data collection, Stonecircle has presented draft reports to the client. We presented a draft National Synthesis Report, which consolidated five regional reports, as well as a draft Community Popular report, which highlights the successes and interesting program ideas that Head Start sites are implementing to incorporate culture and language.
Pictured left to right: Kory Goulais, Shelley Thomas Prokop (Saskatchewan), Jennifer David, EJ Fontaine (Manitoba), Anika Altiman (Ontario), Isabelle Picard (Quebec), Greg Smith and Heidi Doxtator (FNIHB).
Pictured above are all of the First Nation regional evaluators that Stonecircle hired to join our team and to travel to First Nation communities. We were invited to make a presentation to FNIHB staff on our process and on the findings. While details about the findings will not be shared until FNIHB releases the report, we were able to share some of our stories about this project. One story is from Anika, our Ontario researcher, who travelled all the way from southwestern Ontario to Timmins, on her way up to a community on the James Bay coast, and got stuck for two days because of the weather. Unable to reschedule, she had to turn around and try to re-book her travel. Or Shelley, from Saskatchewan, who had to delay several visits because of severe winter road conditions. We shared about the realities of working with First Nations, particularly remote communities, and of adapting to our erratic Canadian winters. (Of course, everyone affiliated with Aarluk is nodding their heads because this is pretty routine for work throughout Nunavut!)

The evaluators spoke about the wonderful people they met in the communities and the inspirational work that Head Start is doing to teach children about language and culture. Thanks to everyone who was part of this interesting project.

Friday, February 17, 2012

Welcome to Aarluk's New General Manager!

Aarluk's new General Manager, Jimmy Jacquard
Jimmy Jacquard is well known to many people in Nunavut. He grew up just outside Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, and attended Dalhousie University, obtaining a Bachelor of Science with a major in biology. He then went off to Queen's University to complete a Bachelor of Education. This led to thirteen years in Nunavut, as he travelled north to pursue work in the educational field. Jimmy has been President of the Nunavut Teachers' Association, was one of the vice-presidents of the Canadian Teachers' Federation, and has been the chair of the National Advisory Committee on Aboriginal education.

Jimmy has extensive experience at the municipal, territorial and national level with training and development, facilitation, and strategic planning initiatives. Continuing to "walk the talk," Jimmy completed an Executive Masters of Business Administration degree before beginning his consulting career.

We are all very excited to have Jimmy join Aarluk as our new General Manager. Jimmy will replace Victor Tootoo, who is Aarluk's Vice-President and will now be concentrating full-time on consulting. Jimmy will carry out both management and consulting work for Aarluk, and can be reached in the Iqaluit office at 867-979-2089, or via email at jacquard@aarluk.ca.

Welcome Jimmy!

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Indian Act article adds to the dialogue

Government-funded modular homes destined for Attawapiskat after
revelations of sub-standard housing shocked the nation. CANADIAN PRESS
The Toronto Star recently carried a powerful statement from Satsan (Herb George) of the National Centre for First Nations Governance, tracing the challenges facing Attawapiskat, and other struggling communities, to their root cause: the failure of the Indian Act, and its continued role as major impediment to growth and prosperity in First Nations.

We believe it is an important perspective that deserves the widest possible circulation. Here is an excerpt and a link to the full statement.

"The government of Canada and First Nations leadership have met and agreed on some immediate steps for action. It is admirable that removing the barriers that hinder First Nations governance and unlocking the economic potential of First Nations are on the list.

Like summits before this meeting, phasing out the Indian Act is not on the list. Again, it is left to First Nations citizens to remove this most important obstacle to effective, prosperous governance.

Canadians recently discovered the crushing poverty in Attawapiskat. This is not the first time Attawapiskat has struggled; and Attawapiskat is not alone. Every three years or so, these problems are discovered and agonized over. There is often a quick fix — new homes, an emergency relocation, a temporary water supply. And two or three years later, another set of headlines starts the cycle again.

Why is that? Why are First Nations and the government locked in a seemingly unbreakable dance of failure and recrimination? [...more...]

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Sharks, Shells and Jellyfish: How We Spent Our Winter Vacation


There are certain destinations that are on every SCUBA diver's Bucket List - the Great Barrier Reef, Bonaire, Truk Lagoon - but the very best diving in the world, most would agree, is in Palau, a tiny cluster of islands in Micronesia. Now Consilium's Terry Rudden and Valerie Assinewe of Stonecircle can cross one more item off that bucket list, and confirm that it's all true; Palau is the dive trip of a lifetime, and worth every exhausting minute of the sixty-two hours of flight and airport time it took to get there and back.

Terry and Valerie elected to dive the islands from the Tropic Dancer (below, centre) live-aboard, a small, dive-focused boat on a mini ten-day cruise. Good decision. The dive sites are widely dispersed, and currents are strong; shore-based divers were limited to two dives per day, while T & V got in an average of four dives. Add to that the luxury of a sun deck, a gourmet on-board chef from Nepal, and the complete absence of internet, email, or even newspapers - and you have a recipe for perfect contentment.

Sharks in the current: our home away from home: T&V tethered

The variety of dive sites is staggering. Palau has it all; wrecks, deep walls, drifts, channels, coral gardens, caverns and caves. The island's signature site is Blue Corner (above, left and right), a current-swept cut in the shelf where hundreds of sharks gather to feed on the schools of smaller fish (and hardly EVER divers). Divers hook in to a patch of dead coral right on the edge of a seemingly bottomless drop off and watch the action. Note the way Teresa's hair streams straight back - now THAT'S current.

Another unusual dive (or snorkel, actually - no gear allowed) is Jellyfish Lake (below, left), a 12,000 year old lake where stingless jellyfish have bred for millennia. Snorkeling in the lake is like diving through a giant, living tapioca pudding of pulsing jellies (or so we assume, never having actually dived in tapioca).

(T, V and Jellyfriends: Paulau Sunset: Valerie Finds Nemo
One of the most memorable dives took place off Peleliu, one of the islands in the Palau group, and site of one of WWII's bloodiest battles. Our day began with a screening of a documentary on the attack, followed by a land tour of the invasion sites and Japanese caves and foxholes, and capped by a dive of White and Orange beaches, where shattered landing craft and unexploded shells are slowing transforming into beautiful coral gardens.

Great dives, perfect weather, fine shipboard dining, great company and a complete media fast - I think we found the perfect way to spend February.

Monday, February 13, 2012

Community Think Tank and Interviews in Wiki

Jennifer David facilitating a session on
renewable energy developments in Wiki.
Stonecircle's Jennifer David just returned from a week in Wikwemikong for part of the ongoing Comprehensive Community Planning process. She was in the community to meet with Band department managers and gather information about community vision, strategic planning and the state of affairs in the community.

Community members hearing about an ongoing land claims negotiation.

Breakout groups discussing how the
community could develop
agriculture businesses.
She was also asked to facilitate a one-day session with community members called the Community Think Tank. This was organized by the Economic Development department and provided an opportunity for community members to learn more about and provide input into some of the key areas of economic development in the community including tourism, agriculture, land claims, an industrial park and renewable energy.
Asking a question about developing
 an industrial park in Wiki.

Kory Goulais, Alex Ker and Chris Grosset will now begin the process of writing sections for the CCP as this project continues.

Friday, February 10, 2012

Northern Lights 2012 Wrap-up

Northern Lights 2012 - Business and Cultural Showcase of Canada's Eastern Arctic & North has wrapped up and what a great event it was! Success is the first word that comes to mind to describe this event. The music, the networking, the art, the conference sessions, the celebrations and the opportunities were all nothing short of exceptional.

An example of the beautiful art showcased.

A recap of some of my most fave things about Northern Lights 2012:

  • Seeing all the gorgeous sealskin, all the gorgeous clothing, all the gorgeous jewelry - it made my heart happy to see the beauty of the seal. Breathtaking.
  • The cool red leather chairs at our booth - the Consilium/Aarluk/Stonecircle crew served as the unofficial 'Welcome to the trade show' greeters with our front and centre setup. A great place to sit and find out what our companies are all about, conduct meetings and watch all the visitors enter the show.
The Consilium Consulting Group booth with cool red leather chairs.
  • The Ottawa Convention Centre itself is a superb venue - that view of Parliament from the gala on Saturday night was fantastic.
  • The Conference sessions - where can you go to hear such a wide variety of topics with speakers who are passionate and informed about topics and issues of key importance to people working, living and doing business in Canada's north and eastern arctic? I must add that the moderators from the Consilium Consulting Group were so pleased to be part of these Conference sessions and everyone had a great time participating as a moderator. 
  • The networking - we are all separated by vast distances in the north. Any opportunities were we are able to come together, to meet face-to-face, to get updated on new projects and new programs, and share in the emerging opportunities in our northern regions is something to be celebrated. 
  • The inspiration - these events always leave me feeling inspired, enthusiastic and hopeful. Connecting with others who love the north, who are involved with the north and who want to contribute to making it a place where exciting things happen makes my heart happy.
  • The music - such a wide variety of musical entertainment throughout both the days and the evenings meant everyone was walking around with a spring in their step and a smile on their face. Wonderful to hear, see and feel the creativity from all of the musical artists. 
  • The art - it amazes me, always amazes me, to see the awesomeness of our northern artists. 
  • The celebration - at the gala on Saturday night, coming together both as an organization and as contributors to the entire event to celebrate the success with great food, great company and again, great music.

Aarluk's Chris Grosset,
moderating a conference session
Thanks to everyone who contributed to making the Northern Lights 2012 Business and Cultural Showcase such an amazing event. And for the record, those red leather chairs are sure to be a standard going forward at the Consilium/Aarluk/Stonecircle booth! Superb choice Grosset!

Wednesday, February 08, 2012

Virtual Recruitment Fairs, The Way of The Future

In late January, the Aboriginal Human Resource Council (AHRC) hosted the National Aboriginal Virtual Recruitment Fair, the first of its kind. This entailed finding a platform provider (iCongo, now Hybris) to host the event and provide technical support for setup.

AHRC asked Stonecircle, including Kory Goulais, Jennifer David and Ron Ryan to provide project management and support for building booths and the web environment. Many employers set up booths for a chance to see how the fair would work and to interact with interested Aboriginal job seekers. A total of 35 employers joined the fair:

1. Aboriginal Human Resource Council
2. Accenture Canada
3. Agnico-Eagle Mines
4. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
5. Alberta Health Services
6. Aon Inc.
7. Bayshore Health Care
8. BMO Canada
9. British Columbia Institute of Technology
10. Canada Post
11. Casino Rama
12. Confederation College (Ontario)
13. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation
14. Citizenship and Immigration Canada
15. City of London
16. Correctional Services Canada
17. Exel Canada
18. Farm Credit Canada
19. Flint Energy
20. Fort McKay Group of Companies
21. HSBC Canada
22. Keewaytinook Okimakanak/Northern Chiefs Council
23. Legal Aid Ontario
24. Levert Executive Worldwide Inc.
25. Northern Health (BC)
26. Perimeter Aviation
27. PotashCorp
28. Reliance Offshore
29. Royal Bank of Canada
30. RSC Rental
31. SIAST
32. Statistics Canada
33. TD Bank Group
34. The Fairmont Banff Springs
35. Walter Energy

Throughout the event, a total of 187 entered the site to visit booths and speak with representatives. The AHRC platform received a total of 212 site visits during the event and had 620 individual registrations.

The event was a success. Many organizations told us they thought that Virtual Fairs were the "way of the future" and received tremendous value not only from being a part of the experience, but from the resumes that were loaded and obtained through the event. This has led to several interviews and hopefully a few hires within a couple of the organizations.

Here's a quote from one employer, sent to AHRC: "It certainly was a new experience for all of us and obviously the way of the future. I commend you and organization for realizing the great potential of virtual recruitment fairs. It certainly seemed from conversations on the chat that there were great opportunities available." Lou Anne Oldenhoff, City of London.

And here's one from one of the job seekers: "The fair was absolutely wonderful. I am totally impressed. I have been searching for jobs online constantly that suit my qualifications as well as my interests with no luck so far. I found three possible connections in one hour on your site!"

Congratulations to Craig Hall, Peggy Berndt, Subash Biswal and all the team at AHRC for a great event.

Monday, February 06, 2012

Favourite Consulting Assignments: Kazakhstan Training Project

Greg Smith, Senior Consultant
Every consultant has assignments that they remember with special fondness. We asked our team to reminisce a bit about their own favourite memories. Here's another one from Greg Smith:

One of my favourite consulting assignments was... a training and evaluation project for participants from Kazakhstan, which started in 1996. Consilium was asked by the leading high tech firm, Newbridge Networks Corporation (later acquired by Alcatel), to help design, deliver and evaluate a cross-cultural pilot project in management and marketing training for bank and telecommunications managers, administrators and technical specialists from Kazakhstan. Newbridge was providing equipment to the Kazakhstan national telecommunications company, ALTEBA, for a number of branches of the country’s largest bank - Halyk Savings Bank. With funding from CIDA, Newbridge brought personnel from both Kazakhstan companies to Canada for two weeks of technical, marketing and business training. Consilium designed and delivered training on Canadian business and marketing practices, and later evaluated the overall training program and equipment deployment in Kazakhstan.

With our training design and delivery specialist, Terry Rudden, Fred Weihs and I helped to pull together our part of the two-week training program for about eight participants. This included a presentation on customer service by my old friend Ian Brooks, who lives in Auckland, New Zealand and consults and speaks on this subject around the South Pacific, and happened to be in Canada at the time. It also included visits to Canadian banks in Ottawa and Montreal, presentations and discussions by banking representatives, a visit to Telesat’s Montreal satellite operations centre, as well as sessions by marketing specialists. The trainees were very interesting and interested in the subject matter, the Newbridge counterparts were fun to work with, and the two weeks in Canada culminated in a great party punctuated by lots of Russian caviar and vodka, and many toasts to everlasting friendship.

Almaty Central Mosque
Six months later Fred and I joined Newbridge staff, technical consultant Ross Cowan, and Russian translator Vladimir Privalov, and flew to Almaty, the capital of Kazakhstan, to meet up with the trainees and to review and evaluate the results of the training program and equipment deployment. This was the most interesting time of all, starting with the Marlboro and Camel billboard-lined highway in from the airport at 2 a.m., through all of the meetings, tours and other activities laid on by our hosts, to the final farewell party, which again featured lots of vodka and energetic toasts. Almaty was a fascinating city, a blend of age old markets and horse drawn vehicles, grim Soviet era buildings, exotic far Eastern architecture, little shops and roadside restaurants, and near the city, along the border with China, a mountain range we visited on one of the excursions organized for us.

Greg and Fred (not exactly as shown) at the Arasan Public Baths.
One of the highlights was a visit to the dome shaped Arasan Public Baths (Banya) complex with an ornate and elaborate Turkish bath, sauna, plunge pools and massage section that felt like something from the Arabian Nights. Following our guides, we stripped off our clothes and entered a large round chamber which centred around a slab of heated stone, upon which clients laid down to soak up the heat. Along the perimeter were a number of smaller rooms which held saunas of various temperatures, each one seemingly hotter than the next. On the opposite walls were arched niches for massages, and each of us was assigned a male masseur. I was lucky because mine was thin though energetic, while Fred’s was heavier; both proceeded to splash us with hot soapy water, and pummel and knead our whole bodies, culminating in them standing on and walking across our backs as we lay prone on the stone benches. It was partly invigorating, partly exhausting, and partly just plain bone crushing agony, but overall, a very memorable experience.

After a week or so, we left Almaty to return home to write our report - mission accomplished, bodies somewhat sore, generally a bit hung over, but satisfied with the whole experience, and sorry to say goodbye to our very welcoming hosts and former trainees.

Friday, February 03, 2012

Getting ready to do business: Sector Opportunities and Trade Show Preparation Workshops

Ron Ryan of Aarluk Consulting was pleased to be able to deliver two workshops on behalf of the Baffin Regional Chamber of Commerce (BRCC) in Arctic Bay in January 2012.

Sectors Opportunities workshops help community members get a better understanding of the local and regional economy and identify business opportunities in specific sectors of the economy. The workshops are an initial introduction to assist individuals take the important first steps in creating businesses to take advantage of those opportunities. The workshops are funded by CanNor.

The main goal of the Trade Show Preparation Workshops is to assist Baffin businesses prepare for and participate in Trade Shows that will yield maximum benefits from their participation. This particular workshop was sponsored by the Hamlet of Arctic Bay with funding they received from the Department of Economic Development & Transportation (ED&T) GN.

Pictured from left to right: Sarah Leblanc (BRCC), Ron Ryan (Aarluk), Clare Kines (EDO), Frank May (Mayor)
The workshops were very timely as the participants were able to participate in the BRCC CED event that took place immediately following the workshops in the community. Participants were able to meet with various funders so that they can expand their business to the next level of implementation.

Aarluk was pleased to be able to assist the BRCC and the community of Arctic Bay with these three programs from the Chamber, ED&T and CanNor.

Wednesday, February 01, 2012

The Consinema Film Review: The Artist

Photo credit: The Weinstein Company
Rating: 5 out of 5 popcorn bags!
Title: The Artist

The Pitch: A fading silent film era actor who doesn’t want to be part of the “talking” motion pictures ignores the coming change in technology and opts to soldier on making silent films as his peers find success.

Plot Summary: The leading man starts the movie at the very pinnacle of his career just as "the talkies" start, and he happens to notice the spunky Ingenue playing bit parts and is completely smitten (it's mutual). While he refuses to have anything to do with sound pictures (this film is NOT entirely silent!) She embraces them wholeheartedly and her star rises. His does not fall, it plummets.

What Shines: The wonderfully vintage look. The glorious cinematography and the lead actors' (Jean Dujardin, Bérénice Bejo) performances burst with energy. So very many little set pieces, borrowing from Vaudeville, Chaplin, Keaton, Sennet, it boggles the mind. The score is by turns bouncy, exciting and heartbreakingly evocative. Just when you think all is lost, the movie pulls of a "classic" Hollywood ending!

What Sucks: The film employs every single Hollywood cliche ever imagined. The thing of it is, that it doesn't detract one bit from the movie!

Summary: The Artist is pure joy. Set in Hollywood in 1927 it’s got everything – comedy, drama, dancing, romance, tension, redemption, a dog for a sidekick, a handsome lead, and a beautiful starlet.

Watch For: Berenice Bejo's dance with the jacket on the coat rack (classic Chaplin!), plus many many cameos!