Le Sélect Bistro, Toronto | Arts and entertainment events in Toronto

Gary Tarn's The Prophet based on Khalil Gibran's book of prose poetry essays.

Toronto's Hot Docs, North America's largest documentary festival, runs until May 6 at various venues such as the Bell Lightbox, the Royal Cinema, the Isabel Bader theatre, and many more. Some of the highlights include the screening of filmmaker and composer Gary Tarn 's The Prophet who takes audiences on an imagistic journey from Serbia to Lebanon, weaving the poetic prose of Lebanese-American writer Kahlil Gibran with a unique soundtrack to create a cinematic exploration of love, life and loss.

Israeli filmmaker Guy Davidi's and Palestinian farmer-filmmaker Emad Burnat's Five Broken Cameras

Another film well worth seeing is Five Broken Cameras, the product of the collaboration between Israeli filmmaker Guy Davidi and Palestinian farmer-filmmaker Emad Burnat. This the first-person story of the non-violent resistance of the West Bank village of Bil’in whose very existence is threatened by encroaching Israeli colonies, the advance of the monumental separation wall, and the destruction of Palestinian olive groves by the occupying army. The film has been acclaimed at Sundance and many Europeans festivals.

Hot Docs’ website makes it easy to view the billboard and select a film by genre. Le Sélect is this year again one of the returning hospitality sponsors.

New York City by Bruce Gilden at MOCCA

The Contact photography festival runs throughout the month of May with events, exhibitions, and public installations throughout Toronto. Major exhibitions take place at the AGO, the ROM, the Design Exchange, the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art (MOCCA) at Queen and Shaw, and the U of T Art Centre.

The MOCCA alone has two shows. The first, Street View, features works by photographers including Henri Cartier-Bresson, whose images of Paris encapsulated the city in the 20th century, and Weegee (Arthur Fellig), the New York crime scene photographer whose unforgettable pictures of the Film Noir era crystallize dramatic moments with tabloid intensity. The MOCCA's other show, Collective Identity | Occupied Spaces includes images by artists inluding New York's Bill Sullivan and Baudouin Mouanda from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

From the series More Turns by Bill Sullivan at Pearson Airport, terminal 1.

If you can't get inside a gallery, watch for some of the public installations. The photojournalist Tim Hetherington, killed in action in Libya last year, is celebrated with a collection of his photos, Sleeping Soldiers, reproduced on billboards at Dundas and Lansdowne. The images all depict US soldiers grabbing forty winks during front-line service in Afghanistan. More of Bill Sullivan's pictures are on display at Pearson's Terminal 1. TTC subway stations feature poster works by Derek Besant and others, and, on the LCD screens, works by the public submitted in response to the theme, "We're in this together".

Le Sélect is proud to once again be a sponsor of the Worldwide Short Film Festival, running from June 5 to 10 with screenings at various locations downtown. The program's still under wraps, but stay tuned to the website to get updates.

Robert Lepage's Playing Cards 1: Spades

Luminato returns for its fifth spectacular year, running from June 8 to 17. As always, there will be a great collection of free public events as well as a huge range of ticketed shows. Among the free occurrences: expect the grounds of Fort York to be filled with 200 tents in a sculpture called The Encampment. Under the guidance of Austrian artist Rainer Prohaska, mobile kitchens will spring up at David Pecaut Square and at The Brickworks where the public will be invited to collectively prepare and partake in a meal, with the recipe changing daily.

The Songs of Kate McGarrigle at Massey Hall

Ticketed events include Robert Lepage's highly anticipated Playing Cards 1: Spades at the Tannenbaum Opera Centre, and La Belle et la Bête: A Contemporary Retelling, a production involving theatre, film, dance, poetry, visual arts, music and sound by Montréal artists Michel Lemieux and Victor Pilon. Musical events include Love Over and Over – The Songs of Kate McGarrigle at Massey Hall, in which family and friends gather to perform the music of the Canadian songwriter, and Steward Goodyear's Beethoven Marathon at Koerner Hall, as the pianist plays all 32 Beethoven sonatas in one day.

Howard's End, presented by producer James Ivory as part of the Books on Film series

The five new screens of the Bell Lightbox are conveniently close to Le Sélect and feature a great selection of films and documentaries. Among the upcoming events: Guillermo del Toro, director of Pan's Labyrinth, presents four Hitchcock films - Shadow of a Doubt, North by Northwest, Frenzy and Notorious - with pre- and post-screening discussion. To May 16. CBC's Elanor Wachtel wraps up her Books on Film series with producer James Ivory, half of the Merchant Ivory duo, presenting and discussing his 1992 film Howard's End (June 18). The Food on Film series continues with top chefs presenting mouth-watering films like Vatel (May 15), a biopic of the 17th century culinary legend, and the distinctively Italian Mid-August Lunch (June 26).

Rubens' Massacre of the Innocents, part of the Thomson Collection

The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) now houses a bigger and better collection of art, with some tremendous additions from the Thomson and Frum collections. They include a stunning collection of European art and sculpture, a flotilla of extraordinary model ships, and art and sculpture from sub-Saharan Africa. Plus there's the old favourites: 11000 years of Canadian art, Dutch and Flemish masters, Henry Moore, and a big contemporary collection overlooking Grange Park.

Picasso at the AGO

Jack Chambers: Light, Spirit, Time, Place and Life (to May 13) is a retrospective of the Canadian painter's work. Picasso: Masterpieces from the Musée National Picasso, Paris runs to August. These are the paintings Picasso kept for himself, and are normally only visible in Paris, but the museum is currently undergoing renovations so the collection is travelling. The 147 paintings cover every stage of Picasso's life and career, from as early as 1901 to 1970, shortly before his death.

Elegy by Deborah Samuel

At the Royal Ontario Museum: there's the permanent collection - everything early Canadiana to Chinese temple art to the textile and costume collection to the amazing assemblage of crystals which inspired Daniel Liebeskind's glass and metal extension. To July 2, Elegy by Deborah Samuel features the Canadian artist's haunting and beautiful photos of the bones of animals.

The Art of Collecting (to September 3) highlights over one hundred works selected from the artifacts acquired by the Museum's European Department, including furniture by Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, porcelain from the Sèvres factory, silver by Puiforcat, and glassware by René Lalique. A must for anyone interested in antiques.

The ROM

Shahnama - The Persian "Book of Kings" features intricate ancient illustrations of the epic poem completed about 1010 in Northeastern Iran, telling the story of Iran's kings and their faithful paladins from the beginning of times up to the Arab conquest in 644. To September 3. Plan your trip on the ROM website.

Michael Awad at the Metivier Gallery

Right in our neighbourhood: Nicholas Metivier Gallery at 451 King St West, west of Spadina has new photographs by Michael Awad to May 19. Check out the gallery website. Awad's highly detailed composite photographs feature multiple views of Toronto. From May 24 to June 16, Toronto painter Ric Evans' latest works are inspired by nature found in Northern Ontario. The striations in rocks and spontaneous bursts of lichen are translated into lyrical compositions by Evans' sophisticated use of line and form.

Down the road from us at Diaz Contemporary, 100 Niagara Street: to May 26, works by Elizabeth McIntosh, followed by works by Peter MacCallum from May 31 to July 7.

Factory Theatre is also an easy walk from Le Sélect, and always features outstanding new Canadian theatre. How to Disappear Completely by Itai Erdal is in the Studio from May 8 to 13, wrapping up the current season. The 2012-13 season has been announced- see more on the Factory Theatre website.

Semele at the Four Seasons Centre

The Canadian Opera Company at the Four Seasons Centre at Queen and University presents Offenbach's TheTales of Hoffman to May 14 and a double bill - Alexander Zemlinsky's A Florentine Tragedy and Puccini's Gianni Schicchi from to May 25. Handel's Semele wraps up the season, running from May 9 to 26. Check the COC website for details.

Chroma by the National Ballet

Also sharing the Four Seasons Centre is the National Ballet of Canada, where the North American premiere of Hamlet, choreographed by Kevin O'Day, to June 10. From June 13 to 17, Chroma & Song of a Wayfarer & Elite Syncopations is a trio of short works. Class on Stage is a special event on June 16, in which Artist-in-Residence Rex Harrington will lead the dancers in their daily training routine while Senior Ballet Master Peter Ottmann provides insightful commentary. The season ends with a Diamond Gala on June 20 featuring a selection of works and excerpts chosen by Artistic Director Karen Kain to showcase the brilliance of the National Ballet's acclaimed dancers.