6x CFMA Winners SULTANS OF STRING Celebrate Cannes World Film Festival Win with a Public Screening of “Walking Through The Fire” at Folk Alliance Montreal

 

SAT FEB 22, 2025, at 2:15-4:00PM - Le Centre Sheraton Montreal - FREE!

3x JUNO nominees and 6x Canadian Folk Music Award winners Sultans of String are kicking off the New Year and beyond with a free screening of their award-winning film WALKING THROUGH THE FIRE, that just won Best Musical Film and Best Soundtrack at the Cannes World Film Festival. This powerful film production is unlike any other, bringing the magic of collaboration to the screen with award-winning First Nations, Métis, Inuit artists across Turtle Island/Canada.

This Free Screening is open to the public and also includes a Q&A moderated by Joel Elliot, along with producer Chris McKhool and several artists from the project, including Marc Meriläinen, Shannon Thunderbird, and Alyssa Delbaere-Sawchuk.

“We are so excited to be able to present our collaborations that showcase and amplify Indigenous voices, while also engaging our audiences with access to these powerful artists in talkback sessions” says bandleader/producer and Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal recipient Chris McKhool.

A central theme running through Walking Through The Fire is the need for the truth of Indigenous experience to be told before reconciliation can begin in earnest. Embedded in the title is the energy of rebirth: fire destroys, but it also nourishes the soil to create new growth, beauty, and resiliency.


Sultans of String created this project in the spirit of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 Calls to Action, and Final Report that asks for Indigenous and non-Indigenous people to work together as an opportunity to show a path forward.



Says McKhool “We know that as a society we can’t move ahead without acknowledging and reflecting on the past. Before reconciliation can occur, the full truth of the Indigenous experience in this country needs to be told, so we’ve been calling on Indigenous artists to share with us their stories, their experience, and their lives, so we settler Canadians can continue our learning about the history of genocide, residential schools, and of inter-generational impacts of colonization.”

• Sat Feb 22, 2025 at 2:15pm-4:00pm
Le Centre Sheraton Montreal Hotel, East Room – Level 4
1201 René-Lévesque Blvd W, Montréal, Quebec H3B 2L7

THIS IS FREE - NO ADMISSION CHARGE - AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC!

Check out their 2 min. WTTF Official Film Trailer:
https://youtu.be/wWSZUduo5Kk

Walking Through the Fire: Visual Album is a visually stunning and transformative blend of interviews and music video that brings the magic of collaboration to the screen, with award-winning First Nations, Métis, and Inuit artists from across Turtle Island working together with Sultans of String to create something extraordinary. Prepare to be absorbed by the captivating synergy and power of Walking Through the Fire as it takes you on a journey where cultures collide, boundaries dissolve, and the universal language of music unites us all.



From Métis fiddling to an East Coast Kitchen Party, rumba to rock, to the drumming of the Pacific Northwest, experience the beauty and diversity of music from Elder and poet Dr. Duke Redbird, the Métis Fiddler Quartet, Ojibwe/Finnish Singer-Songwriter Marc Meriläinen (Nadjiwan), Coast Tsm’syen Singer Shannon Thunderbird, The North Sound from the Prairies, Blues singer Crystal Shawanda, Heavy-Wood guitarist Don Ross, Northern Cree pow wow group, Dene singer-songwriter Leela Gilday, Inuit Throat Singers and more! A central theme running through Walking Through The Fire is the need for the truth of Indigenous experience to be told before reconciliation can begin in earnest. Embedded in the title is the energy of rebirth: fire destroys, but it also nourishes the soil to create new growth, beauty, and resiliency. Walking Through The Fire ensures that we emerge on the other side together, stronger and more unified. Experience in full DOLBY ATMOS. 80 Minutes.


“The very fact that you’re doing this tells me that you believe in the validity of our language, you believe in the validity of our art and our music and that you want to help to bring it out. And that’s really what’s important, is for people to have faith that we can do this”
The Honourable Murray Sinclair, Ojibwe Elder and former chair of the Truth & Reconciliation Commission

ABOUT SULTANS OF STRING:

Bandleader Chris McKhool (Makhoul in Lebanon) has an Egyptian-born mother who happened to play piano, teach classical theory, and feed her young son as much Middle Eastern cuisine as she did music lessons. From there, the powerful violinist developed a taste for multi-genre string sounds and found a like-minded crew of all-world enthusiasts. When McKhool first heard founding guitarist Kevin Laliberté’s rumba rhythm, their musical synergy created Sultans of String’s signature sound – the intimate and playful relationship between violin and guitar. From this rich foundation, the dynamic duo grew, featuring such amazing musical friends as in-the-pocket bass master Drew Birston, and the jaw-dropping beats of percussionist Chendy Leon.

Their live resume is similarly stellar. Equally at home in a concert hall, folk and jazz club or festival setting, the Sultans have gigged at JUNOfest, the legendary club Birdland in New York, Celtic Connections Festival (Glasgow) and London’s Trafalgar Square. They have sold out Koerner Hall three times (Toronto’s Carnegie Hall), and performed with the Annapolis, Toronto, Vancouver, Edmonton Symphony Orchestras. They have played live on CBC’s Canada Live, BBC Radio, BBC TV, Irish National Radio, and the syndicated World Café, Woodsongs, and SiriusXM in Washington. Sultans of String’s musicianship and versatility are also showcased in collaborations with such diverse luminaries as Paddy Moloney & The Chieftains, Sweet Honey in The Rock, Richard Bona (Paul Simon), Alex Cuba, Ruben Blades, Yasmin Levy, Benoit Bourque, Béla Fleck, Crystal Shawanda & Ken Whiteley.


ABOUT FOLK ALLIANCE INTERNATIONAL

Folk Alliance International (FAI) is an international arts nonprofit and NEA-designated National Arts Service Organization based in Kansas City, Missouri. Founded in 1989, they’re a community of passionate and driven artists, managers, agents, DJs, festivals, record labels, fans, and more. FAI exists to keep the tradition of folk music thriving through preservation, presentation and promotion. Understanding the value of folk music and where it fits in with the broader arts community, FAI is dedicated to pushing the genre forward and breaking boundaries. They have built this diverse community over the years to now include an expanded global network of more than 3,000 cultural sector entrepreneurs and leaders.

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RECENT AWARDS:
• 2025 Canadian Folk Music Awards-nominated Ensemble of the Year
• 2024 Folk Music Ontario–Performing Artist of the Year nominee
• 2024 Burlington Performing Arts Centre Hall of Fame
• 2024 Merilaïnen Music Awards–Indigenous Ally of the Year
• 2023 International Songwriting Competition–Finalist with Black Winged Raven, The Rez,
and Nîmihito
• 2023 Canadian Folk Music Awards-Global Roots Album of the Year with Sanctuary
• 2023 Canadian Folk Music Awards-Producer of the Year with Sanctuary
• 2023 Canadian Folk Music Awards-nominated Pushing the Boundaries & Contemporary Album
• 2022 Dr. Duke Redbird Lifetime Achievement Award–JAYU Arts For Human Rights
• 2022 Folk Music Ontario–Song of the Year winner-Mi Santuario
• 2022 Folk Music Ontario–Nominated for Performer of the Year
• 2022 Cannes World Film Festival–Best Musical Film
• 2022 Burlington’s Best Local Musician/Band
• 2021 Canadian Folk Music Awards-Producer of the Year with Refuge
• 2021 Canadian Folk Music Awards nominee for Ensemble of the Year with Refuge
• 2021 Canadian Independent Music Association-Pivot Award
• 2021 Markham Performing Arts Awards-Professional Artist of the Year
• 2021 International Songwriting Competition–World Music–Mi Santuario
• 2020 Folk Music Ontario-Songwriting Award–Instrumental-"Refuge”
• 2020 Folk Music Ontario-Songwriting Award–Political-"I Am a Refugee”
• 2020 Independent Music Awards-Instrumental Song of the Year-The Grand Bazaar
• 2020 Independent Music Awards-World Music Producer of the Year–Refuge