Foreign artists from certain countries are still struggling to obtain a visa allowing them to come and give shows in Quebec. Two African comedians had to decide to cancel their presence at EXCLAM, forcing the organizers to revise their plan at the last minute.
The Congolese Juste Parfait and the South African Jason Goliath were to participate in Babel, the show bringing together comedians from all over the world which will be hosted on Saturday by Mike Ward at the end of the first edition of EXCLAM. Finally, they will not be able to perform on the Espace St-Denis stage, if they have not received their visa in time to come to Canada.
The organization, however, specifies that these two comedians began their efforts more than two months ago. They were both summoned to the Canadian Embassy in their country to have their biometric fingerprints taken. But the process dragged on thereafter.
In interview at Duty Tuesday, the promoter of EXCLAM had not hidden his nervousness, whereas the visas of certain announced artists were always made wait. Grégoire Furrer, who organizes several comedy festivals in Europe and Africa, was surprised at the complexity of the steps to be taken to obtain a visa in Canada.
This is not the only event to have clashed with the Canadian authorities. Last year, Nigerian star Yemi Alade, who was to be one of the headliners of the International Festival Nuits d’Afrique, had to cancel his visit to Montreal at the last moment after his visa application was refused. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada feared the popstar wanted to stay in the country, festival organizers said at the time. The International Jazz Festival had also been confronted with visas that were refused or issued too late.
Adjustments
EXCLAM was also forced to adjust its programming. Following the withdrawal of Juste Parfait, the organizers called on the comedian Dolino, a Congolese of origin who grew up in Cuba, and who has lived in Montreal since he was 15 years old. Frenchman Noman Hosni, born to a Tunisian father and an Iraqi mother, will replace South African laughter star Jason Goliath.
The latter was to present a number in Afrikaans and Zulu, which the public could have followed thanks to simultaneous translation. This unprecedented experience, which was particularly expensive, was to be the highlight of EXCLAM. It will still take place, but with some adjustments, the organizers wanted to specify. Noman Hosni will indeed deliver his number, not in Afrikaans and Zulu, but in Iraqi Arabic. Spectators will be able to understand it by wearing their earpieces.