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These 13 winning photos by people who’ve experienced homelessness will make up the next MYTORONTO calendar

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Hardship and periods of homelessness have left a positive mark on the heart of Maria Santos.

“It stayed with me. You just don’t forget that. You become more humble,” said Santos, 54, explaining that she once relied on emergency shelters, sometimes with her very young children. “I just love to give back, because of the lived experience. For me it just puts a smile on my heart.”

Lived experience is what drew Santos to the MYTORONTO project, a photography contest for people who at one point in their lives did not have a place to call home. All the participants are given disposable cameras and instructed to fan out across the city to capture what Toronto is to them. The top 13 photographs were made into a calendar and gift cards.

Santos won this year’s reader’s choice award, through an online vote, for an image of man who called himself Dragon pushing a shopping cart near Bloor St. W. and Dufferin St. Her photo will be on the page for September.

“For some reason I just felt something. I saw this guy walking with his shopping cart covered with bottles,” Santos said. Dragon was friendly and willing to pose, she said. “That right there inspired me even more. I felt good in my heart. Just talking to him and taking the photo. I could tell the way he was posing that he felt good.”

MYTORONTO was modelled after MyLondon, launched by Café Art in England in 2013, and made possible by humanitarian organization Ve’ahavta, working with community partners. This is the second year in Toronto. The Star tracked the winners during the inaugural contest, from camera distribution day through to a public photo exhibition and street sales.

For this second round, 111 disposable cameras were handed out, 93 cameras came back and judges went through 2,600 photos. The calendar and gift cards will be sold online and across Toronto. The top 40 images will also be on display at Artscape Youngplace, starting Thursday and running through to Oct. 19.

Chosen for this year’s cover is a portrait of a white-bearded man, sitting with his back resting against a wall of graffiti in Kensington Market. The photographer, who goes by CJB OCD, told organizers he learned about the contest by reading about it on a bulletin board and credited God for coming across the scene that would become the winning shot.

“People usually personalize what they see when they’re the audience. So, they can see it any way they want; that’s for them to interpret. This might remind them of their beard, their father, their relative, their brother,” he told organizers, who sent his quote to the Star.

The calendars and gift cards both cost $20 and are sold by the winning photographers. They keep half the money and the rest goes back into the program. This year both items will be sold at select locations of Aroma Espresso Bar, at a different location each day during the week of Nov. 19.

Cari Kozierok, Ve’ahavta’s executive director, said one image that really spoke to her and to the giving spirit of the contest was taken by Morsi Luc and shows a man walking by a person lying on a rain-soaked patch of Bay St.

“We are surrounded by a very serious problem that we as human beings feel a call to do something about and we don’t know what to do,” said Kozierok. “We can notice, we can listen to stories, we can meet people affected by poverty and give them a name and a space and a path.”

Maria Santos, winner of the MYTORONTO reader's choice award, spent time in the city's emergency shelter system. "You have to be able to get along with people, because people are on top of each other," she says.
Maria Santos, winner of the MYTORONTO reader’s choice award, spent time in the city’s emergency shelter system. « You have to be able to get along with people, because people are on top of each other, » she says.  (ROMINDER SAINI)

Santos, a single mother of three who came to Toronto from Portugal at the age of four, described the challenges of surviving with her children while using the city’s emergency shelter system. “With children it is no joke. It is quite stressful when you are in a cramped small room and there are other moms with small babies. You have to be able to get along with people, because people are on top of each other.”

Santos now lives with one of her daughters. Ongoing challenges with anxiety made her too nervous to enter the contest last year, but this time she pushed her fears aside and jumped in. Santos was not trained in photography, although having three children meant she was always taking photographs. “I just like to reflect and look back. There is nothing like great memories.”

The contest was a beautiful experience, she said. She’s since joined the Ve’ahavta Street Academy, an adult education course, and signed up for a speakers bureau to further boost her confidence and help her manage what she describes as severe anxiety.

“People wouldn’t know that if they met me, but I’m working really hard.”

She said she hopes that speaking about her own challenges and progress will encourage people to seek out help — because it is there.

Santos also has been trying to find Dragon and wants him to see the exhibition.

“We just don’t know what people are going through,” Santos said. “At the end of the day we breathe the same, we bleed the same, you know, we are human beings.”

Emily Mathieu is a Toronto-based reporter covering affordable and precarious housing. Follow her on Twitter: @emathieustar

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Anglais

Nostalgia and much more with Starburst XXXtreme

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Get a taste of adventure with Starburst XXXtreme based on the legendary NetEnt Game. The nostalgic themes are sure to capture fans of the classic version as they get treated to higher intensity, better visuals, and features. The most significant element of the game is its volatility. Patience will not be an essential virtue considering the insane gameplay, and there is a lot of win potential involved. It retains the original makeup of the previous game while adding a healthy dose of adrenaline. 

Starburst Visuals and Symbols

The game is definitely more conspicuous than before. The setting happens over a 5-reel, 3-row game grid with nine fixed win lines, which function if a succession from the left to the right reel is present. Only those players that that attain the highest win per bet line are paid. From a visual standpoint, the Starburst XXXtreme slots illustrates lightning effects behind the reels, which is not surprising as it is inherited from the original version. Available themes include Classic, Jewels, and Space. The game is also available in both desktop and mobile versions, which is advantageous for players considering the global pandemic. According to Techguide, American gamers are increasingly having more engaging gaming experiences to socialize to fill the gap of in-person interaction. Starburst XXXtreme allows them to fill the social void at a time when there is so much time to be had indoors. 

Starburst XXXTreme Features

Players get to alternate on three features which are Starburst Wilds, XXXtreme Spins, and Random Wilds. The first appears on reels 2,3, or 4. When these land, they expand to cover all positions while also calculating the wins. They are also locked for a respin. If a new one hits, it also becomes locked while awarding another respin. Starburst XXXtreme offers a choice between two scenarios for a higher stake. In one scenario with a ten times stake, the Starburst Wild is set on random on reels 2,3, or 4, and a multiplier starts the respin. The second scenario, which has a 95 times stake, starts with two guaranteed starburst wilds on reels 2,3, or 4. it also plays out using respin game sequence and features. The game also increases the potential with the Random Wilds feature to add Starburst Wilds to a vacant reel at the end of a spin. Every Starburst Wild gives a random multiplier with potential wins of x2, x3, x5, x10, x25, x50, x100, or even x150.

The new feature is sure to be a big hit with the gaming market as online gambling has shown significant growth during the lockdown. AdAge indicates the current casino customer base is an estimated one in five Americans, so Starburst XXXtreme’s additional features will achieve considerable popularity. 

What We Think About The Game

The gambling market has continued to diversify post-pandemic, so it is one of the most opportune times to release an online casino-based game. Thankfully Starburst XXXtreme features eye-catching visuals, including the jewels and space themes. These attract audience participation and make the gameplay inviting. The game also has a nostalgic edge. The previous NetEnt iteration featured similar visuals and gameplay, so the audience has some familiarity with it. The producers have revamped this version by tweaking the features to improve the volatility and engagement. 

That is characterized by the potential win cap of 200,000 times the bet. Starburst XXXtreme does not just give betting alternatives for players that want to go big. The increase of multipliers also provides a great experience. If the respins in the previous version were great, knowing that multipliers can go hundreds of times overtakes the game to a new level. 

Players should get excited about this offering. All of the features can be triggered within a single spin. Whether one plays the standard game or takes the XXXtreme spin route, it is possible to activate all of the features. Of course, the potential 200,000 times potential is a huge carrot. However, the bet size is probably going to be restricted and vary depending on the casino. It is also worth pointing out that a malfunction during the gameplay will void all of the payouts and progress. Overall, the game itself has been designed to provide a capped win of 200,000 times the original bet. 

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Anglais

‘We’re back’: Montreal festival promoters happy to return but looking to next year

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In downtown Montreal, it’s festival season.

In the city’s entertainment district, a musical act was conducting a sound check on stage Friday evening — the second day of the French-language version of the renowned Just For Laughs comedy festival. Tickets for many of the festival’s free outdoor shows — limited by COVID-19 regulations — were sold out.

Two blocks away, more than 100 people were watching an acoustic performance by the Isaac Neto Trio — part of the last weekend of the Festival International Nuits d’Afrique, a celebration of music from the African continent and the African diaspora.

With COVID-19 restrictions continuing to limit capacity, festival organizers say they’re glad to be back but looking forward to next year when they hope border restrictions and capacity limits won’t affect their plans.

Charles Décarie, Just For Laughs’ CEO and president, said this is a “transition year.”

“Even though we have major constraints from the public health group in Montreal, we’ve managed to design a festival that can navigate through those constraints,” Décarie said.

The French-language Juste pour rire festival began on July 15 and is followed by the English-language festival until July 31.

When planning began in February and March, Décarie said, organizers came up with a variety of scenarios for different crowd sizes, ranging from no spectators to 50 per cent of usual capacity.

“You’ve got to build scenarios,” he said. “You do have to plan a little bit more than usual because you have to have alternatives.”

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Anglais

MELS new major movie studio to be built in Montreal

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MONTREAL — MELS Studios will build a new film studio in Montreal, filling some of the gap in supply to meet the demand of Hollywood productions.

MELS president Martin Carrier said on Friday that MELS 4 studio construction will begin « as soon as possible », either in the fall or winter of next year. The studio could host productions as early as spring 2023.

The total investment for the project is $76 million, with the Quebec government contributing a $25 million loan. The project will create 110 jobs, according to the company.

The TVA Group subsidiary’s project will enable it to stand out « even more » internationally, according to Quebecor president and CEO Pierre Karl Péladeau. In the past, MELS Studios has hosted several major productions, including chapters of the X-Men franchise. The next Transformers movie is shooting this summer in Montreal.

Péladeau insisted that local cultural productions would also benefit from the new facility, adding that the studio ensures foreign revenues and to showcase talent and maintain an industry of Quebec producers.

STUDIO SHORTAGE

The film industry is cramped in Montreal.

According to a report published last May by the Bureau du cinéma et de la télévision du Québec (BCTQ), there is a shortage of nearly 400,000 square feet of studio space.

With the addition of MELS 4, which will be 160,000 square feet, the company is filling part of the gap.

Carrier admitted that he has had to turn down contracts because of the lack of space, representing missed opportunities of « tens of millions of dollars, not only for MELS, but also for the Quebec economy. »

« Montreal’s expertise is in high demand, » said Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante, who was present at the announcement.

She said she received great testimonials from « Netflix, Disney, HBO and company » during an economic mission to Los Angeles in 2019.

« What stands out is that they love Montreal because of its expertise, knowledge and beauty. We need more space, like MELS 4, » she said.

There is still not enough capacity in Quebec, acknowledged Minister of Finance, the Economy and Innovation Eric Girard.

« It is certain that the government is concerned about fairness and balance, so if other requests come in, we will study them with the same seriousness as we have studied this one, » he said.

Grandé Studios is the second-largest player in the industry. Last May, the company said it had expansion plans that should begin in 2022. Investissement Québec and Bell are minority shareholders in the company.

For its part, MELS will have 400,000 square feet of production space once MELS 4 is completed. The company employs 450 people in Quebec and offers a range of services including studio and equipment rentals, image and sound postproduction, visual effects and a virtual production platform.

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