The 41st FIMAV, 12-18 May 2025, was of course a reduced edition, but despite (and in some ways because) of this fact, the festival was a unique and joyful event. Key to this joyful sentiment was the Saturday 17 May concert, Fire! Orchestra CBA Victoriaville, featuring 4 European musicians collaborating with 14 of the finest Quebecois and Canadian improvising musicians, from coast to coast. The 90-minute concert went from strength to strength, repeatedly delivering celebratory, breathtaking moments to a full room at Les Salles Frères Lemaire, Carré 150.

To follow, a contrastingly sinister joy emanated from the California art-prog-metal cult favourite, Sleepytime Gorilla Museum. With their evocative costuming and theatrical staging, the band filled the jam-packed Cabaret Guy-Aubert, Carré 150, with energetic sound, a music underpinned with a signature surreal-Dada flavour.

While these were the only ticketed concerts at the 41st FIMAV, the presence of the Fire! Orchestra members over a couple of days of rehearsals provoked a series of informal concerts where they were featured at the Café Lewis and the Cabaret Guy-Aubert, playing for free in smaller groupings, something little seen at FIMAV in recent years. Events like Mats Gustafsson’s “1+1+1+1” (a total of 51 one-minute solo concerts, one listener at a time!) gave audience members and musicians uniquely intimate, unforgettable experiences. Such events will surely be woven into the structure of future FIMAV editions.

The circuit of 10 Sound Art Installations was exceptional in 2025, featuring wonderfully complementary works by Max Boutin, Théâtre Rude Ingénierie, Félix Blume, Léa Boudreau, Simon Chioini, Giuseppe Masia, MMV2005, and Pascal Leblanc Lavigne. While storms and rain compromised the weekend programming, beautiful weather during the week helped to make the circuit especially inviting and enjoyable.

Meanwhile, the experimental cinema programming featured the Oscar-nominated New York filmmaker, Bill Morrison, whose knack for investing archival footage with affecting narrative and powerful political subtext was on full display.

Overall attendance at the 41st FIMAV, 15580 attendees, was supported especially by attendance at our free events –– the Sound Art Installations and informal concerts –– providing Victoriaville residents and visitors alike ample access to wonderful artistic experiences.

The FIMAV team is proud of the work to mount the 41st edition, as we now look forward to a return to a more typical festival format, with about 20 concerts, 11-17 May, 2026. In the meanwhile, we wish you a very wonderful and musical summer.

Photos : Martin Morissette