Poet: Simon Barraclough

Le fiamme di Nule by Simon Barraclough

6 December, 2013 by Dave Bonta - Leave a comment - Posted in Animation
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U.K. poet Simon Barraclough wrote the lyrical narration and provided the voiceover for this beautiful film by Carolina Melis (director) and Maria Zanardi (researcher/coordinator). It mixes live action with animation; the lead animators were Roly Edwards and Kwok Fung Lam. For more, see the film’s website [auto-play warning], which includes this brief synopsis:

The film tells the story of Anna, Rosa and Maria, weavers from Nule in Sardinia, who are taking part in a tapestry competition. Whilst Anna and Rosa try to impress the judges making by perfect and beautiful carpets, Maria surprises the village by creating an unexpected textile.

Regarding Gardens by Simon Barraclough

18 October, 2012 by Dave Bonta - Leave a comment - Posted in Animation
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Carolina Melis directed this wondrous animation by Michela Bruno for the U.K. nonprofit Animate Projects. The reading is by the poet. According to the description at Vimeo, poem, animation and music (“Missed,” by cellist Julia Kent) were conceived together:

An animated film inspired by both the historic gardens of National Trust property, Ham House and Garden, and the estates 17th century owner, Elizabeth Dysart, who held the vision for the garden. The film presents a living portrait of the historic garden of Ham House.

The animation is supported by the research of Garden History specialist Michael Ann Mullen and is accompanied by an original poem by Simon Barraclough and music by Julia Kent.

Three “heart” poems by Simon Barraclough

11 July, 2011 by Dave Bonta - 1 Comment - Posted in Animation
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Three poems by Simon Barraclough — “Starfish Heart,” “Pizza Heart” and “Celeriac Heart” — from his new collection, Neptune Blue. The animations are the work of Carolina Melis, and are quite extraordinary, in my opinion — a novel solution to the problem of how to interpret poetry through animation without getting mired in excessive literalism.