Showcase

Although it was founded in the 1920s, Surrealism continues to impact the way the creative community approaches everything from films to music to writing and, of course, the visual arts. With its otherworldly settings and elements of surprise, Surrealism became an ingrained philosophy of the modern world. And now, an exhibition in Italy has brought all the Surrealist forefathers together to present this movement in an entirely new light.

We're living in an age where it seems movies and TV series based on comic books rule the day. Most of the ones based on superheroes have scored big at the box office and won high ratings. But the TV series, Riverdale, based on one of the oldest comics in pop culture history, has chosen to go down another route. It's traded quaint action for high drama - and its third season is currently dominating the small screen.

As the global refugee crisis grows, more and more people are forced to flee their homes and start over places unknown and unfamilliar to them. And it is this experience that an artist and writer duo are capturing in their latest project. They're inviting visitors to become an integral part of that experience by asking them to unpack both the physical and emotional baggage carried by refugees.

Russian musician Pavel Andreev has staged a performance in a rather unusual location. He played one of his piano compositions in a landfill near St Petersburg, surrounded by tons of garbage. The performance is the latest in a mini-trend of pianists hauling their instruments to far-flung locations. As for Andreev, his goal is to highlight the importance of recycling. And no pianos were injured in the making of this music video.

Rightfully known as the 'King of Qawwali' Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan became an international music sensation by introducing the world to a rhythm virtually unknown outside his native Pakistan. Qawwali, which bears Turkish, Persian, Arabic, and Indian influences, originated in South Asia 700 years ago. And while it's been embraced by countless performers since then, Khan is the one the world most identifies it with.

Widely acclaimed for his spiritual charisma and distinctive exuberance, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan is still the name most associated with Qawalli music today. For more on that, Showcase is joined by Pierre Alain Baud on what would have been Khan's 70th birthday. Baud was both a close friend of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's as well as a chronicler of his life and music for more than ten years.

#NusratFatehAliKhan #Music #Showcase

In this episode of Showcase:

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan:

Pierre Alain Baud, researcher and music promoter:

Unpacked: Refugee Baggage:

Yuli:

Riverdale:

Grand Sofar Hotel of Beirut:

Playing piano against pollution:

He was the bad boy of the 80s contemporary art scene and a graffiti artist who managed to infiltrate New York's competitive gallery circuit. 30 years after his death, the person for whom the term 'outsider artist' was coined, Jean-Michel Basquiat is more popular than ever. And now in Paris a much-awaited retrospective is tracing the roots of his genius.

In this episode of Showcase:

Basquiat in Paris:

BFI London Film Festival:

Tricia Tuttle, artistic director of BFI London Film Festival:

Rashid Khalifa:

Global art news:

Writers and their cats:

Gerard Brennan, author of Disorder:

The Front Runner:

Digital Caravaggio exhibition:

French writer Colette once said: "Our best friends have no fewer than four feet." She along with other brilliant writers - from Ernest Hemingway to Margaret Atwood - have found both solace and inspiration in cats. Long considered as a scribe's best companion, they've found their way into many authors homes and hearts.

But what exactly makes a cat a writer's best friend? To answer that, Showcase is joined by Gerard Brennan who is an author that has three cats of his own.

Just over a year ago, women in Hollywood finally stood up to the sexual harassment and assault they experienced at the hands of colleagues and Tinseltown moguls. Millions of women chimed in on social media to share their stories with #MeToo. What followed was a crackdown on the power-players of Hollywood, previously thought to be untouchable. The movement gained international support and helped bring the wrongdoers to face justice.

To further examine the MeToo movement, Showcase is joined by Kaitlyn Regehr, who's a gender theorist and lecturer in digital culture and media at The University of Kent.