~ calls for work ~
All festivals, events and calls for work are mentioned by Moving Poems with our best efforts and in good faith. However, do check all details yourself as we cannot guarantee accuracy, and make your own judgements because we cannot verify the things that we share. Events may fail for a variety of genuine reasons, or may be a scam to elicit fees.
Festivals, Competitions, Journals: Open for Submissions
Source: Thomas William, Unsplash
CURRENTLY ACCEPTING POETRY FILM SUBMISSIONS:
Festival Fotogenia, Mexico
Entry fee: US$25
Submissions close: 20 September 2020
Versi di Luce, Italy
Entry fee: US$10
Submissions close: 30 September 2020
Deanna Tulley Multimedia Prize, USA
(from Slippery Elm Literary Journal, University of Findlay, Ohio)
Entry fee: US$10
Submissions close: 30 September 2020
Queensland Poetry Festival: Film & Poetry Challenge, Australia
(for Australian artists)
Entry fee: AUD$15
Submissions close: 10 October 2020
Mayflower 400 Poetry Film Competition, UK
Entry fee: free
Submissions close: 19 October 2020
Helios Sun Poetry Film Festival, Mexico
Entry fee: US$15
Submissions close: 31 October 2020
Athens International Poetry Film Festival, Greece
Entry fee US$6
Submissions close: 27 November 2020
REELPoetry Festival, USA
Entry fee: US$15
Submissions close: 15 December 2020
International Migration & Environmental Film Festival, Portugal
Entry fee: US$20.50
Submissions close: 31 January 2021
Caafa International Film Festival, Nigeria
(for African and African-descended artists)
Entry fee: US$10
Submissions close: 18 June 2021
Open Call: VideoBardo Videopoetry Festival
VideoBardo is a bridge to the videocassette era.
I’m not quite sure how I missed this till now (possibly because they’re based mainly on Facebook these days, and I don’t spend much time there), but Buenos Aires-based VideoBardo, currently the world’s longest-running videopoetry festival, is gearing up for 2020. You still have plenty of time to submit: the deadline is 30 August.
VideoBardo, founded in 1996, call artists to participate in the International Videopoetry Festival – VideoBardo 2020, which will be realizated throughout 2020 in different cities and venues around the world and at a CENTRAL WEEK in Buenos Aires, Argentina; on dates to be defined.
We understand as Videopoetry to those audiovisual works in that the poetic verbal language (word, letter, speech, writing, sign) has a leading role or a special transforming treatment. Therefore the three fields: Image in movement, Sound, and Verbal language are in a dialogue to create a fourth reality that is the Videopoetic Work. Then the verbal language in video poetry is experienced in its meanings by visual, sound, corporal and physical dimensions.
Note that Spanish subtitling is generally required for works in other languages. Click through for all the rules, and then submit here.
Call for Entries: Midwest Video Poetry Fest
A new videopoetry festival has emerged in Madison, Wisconsin: Midwest Video Poetry Fest.
Arts + Literature Laboratory has brought creativity and community into the lives of thousands of people during our first four years in Madison through exhibitions, concerts, readings, and education programming for all ages. We bring together world-class artists, emerging and local artists, writers, musicians, and audiences for approximately two hundred events each year. In 2020, our programming and audiences will expand as we move into a new, more accessible, and larger location in the heart of Madison’s Capitol East District. At this new location, we will be hosting the first Midwest Video Poetry Fest (MVPF).
Video poetry gives creators an opportunity to use one of our newest art forms–film–to transform one of our oldest art forms—poetry. This emerging and exciting format is adding to the rapidly growing audience for poetry in America. Leading up to the screenings, which will be part of the Wisconsin Book Festival in October of this year, Arts + Literature Laboratory (ALL) will be hosting free poetry video making workshops, featuring video poetry on our ALL Review, and hosting discussions on the genre of video poetry.
MVPF will be the first of its kind in Wisconsin and will present the work of local, national, and international poets and filmmakers. All events will be free and open to the public.
Midwest Video Poetry Fest is made possible in part by a grant from Dane Arts. For sponsorship and volunteer opportunities, please genia@artlitlab.org.
Read the full Rules and Regulations here.
DEADLINE: August 1, 2020
Midwest Video Poetry Fest proudly accepts entries on FilmFreeway, the world’s #1 way to enter film festivals and creative contests.
Call for Entries: 8th Annual Ó Bhéal International Poetry-Film Competition
In case you missed the brief link in last week’s news round-up, here’s a press release from Ó Bhéal with the full call-out.
The 8th annual Ó Bhéal International Poetry-Film Competition
2020 is Ó Bhéal’s eleventh year screening International poetry-films, and the eighth year featuring this competition. Up to thirty films will be shortlisted and screened during the festival in November 2020. One winner will receive the Indie Cork / Ó Bhéal prize for best Poetry-Film.
Submissions are open from: 1st May – 31st August 2020. You may submit as many entries as you like. Films must interpret, or convey a poem which must be present in its entirety (audibly and/or visually), having been completed no earlier than 1st of May 2018.
Entries may not exceed 10 minutes in duration. Non-English language films will require English subtitles. The shortlist will be announced during October 2020.
One overall winner will receive the Ó Bhéal award for best poetry-film. Shortlisted films will be screened (and the winner announced) at the 8th Winter Warmer poetry festival (27th-29th Nov 2020).
Entry is free to anyone, and should be made via email to poetryfilm [at] obheal.ie – including the following info in an attached word document:
- Name and duration of Film
- Month & Year completed
- Name of Director
- Country of origin
- Contact details
- Name of Poet
- Name of Poem
- Synopsis
- Filmmaker biography
- and a Link to download a high-resolution version of the film.**
**If you are sending a vimeo or youtube link, etc, please ensure that the download button is enabled. All films not shortlisted by the judges are permanently deleted directly after the adjudication process.
The Judges for this years competition are poet/playwright/filmmaker Dairena Ní Chinnéide & poet/filmmaker Paul Casey
Follow the link for an outline of the submission details:
http://www.obheal.ie/blog/competition-poetry-film/
Call for entries: ZEBRA Poetry Film Festival 2020
Adapted from a press release from the Haus für Poesie
As of today, the ZEBRA Poetry Film Festival in Berlin is inviting entries for its competition for the best international poetry films. Eligible for entry are international short films produced since January 1, 2018 which are based on poems and are no more than 20 minutes in duration. All languages are allowed. The competition winners will be awarded prize money. A programme committee will select films for the international competition and for all the other festival programmes from among the entries. At the festival, the winning films will be selected by a jury comprising representatives from the worlds of poetry, film and media.
In addition, ZEBRA is inviting filmmakers to submit a film interpretation of this year’s festival poem “Lethe” by the poet TJ Dema.* Text and audio of the poem together with translations come from lyrikline.org, a leading online archive for poetry. The directors of the three best film interpretations will be chosen by the programme committee and invited to come to Berlin where they will have the opportunity to present their films at the festival and discuss them with the poet.
Entry deadline is the 1st of July 2020.
Conditions of participation and entry form are here. Please submit using FilmFreeway here.
The 11th ZEBRA Poetry Film Festival will run from November 19-22, 2020 in Berlin’s Kino in der KulturBrauerei. It’s the largest international platform for poetry film worldwide. Since 2002 it has offered poets, film- and festival-makers from all over the world a platform for creative exchange, brainstorming and meeting with a broad audience. With a competition, film programmes, poetry readings, retrospectives, exhibitions, performances, workshops, colloquia, lectures and a children’s program, it showcases in various sections the diversity of the poetry film genre. In 2018, more than 1200 submissions from 97 countries were submitted for the international competition.
Follow ZEBRA at Haus für Poesie and on Vimeo, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
__________
*The Festival Poem may be used only for the purpose of film interpretation within the scope of this call for entries. For any other use at other festivals or on other platforms, etc. the film makers must obtain the rights from the rights holders.
Call for work: Cadence Video Poetry Festival 2020
Cadence: Video Poetry Festival is open for submissions! This annual festival at the Northwest Film Forum in Seattle, Washington will host screenings on April 16 and 17 and is looking for work ranging from adaptations to collaboration to include in the festival. Cadence approaches video poetry as a literary genre presented as visual media that makes new meaning from the combination of text and moving image. Send Cadence your video poetry through March 1 via FilmFreeway.
The foregoing is the (slightly altered) text of a social-media-adapted press release that Chelsea Werner-Jatzke emailed me this week—a good indication, I suspect, of just how well organized this festival is generally. In case you missed it, I interviewed Chelsea and her co-conspirator Rana San last July. See “How to start a major new videopoetry festival: an interview with the co-directors of Cadence.”
Call for Entries: Atticus Review’s 2nd Annual Videopoem Contest
This week Atticus Review, one of the best online magazines to regularly feature videopoems, poetry films, and other multimedia literary works, announced that their second annual videopoem contest is open for submissions. Marc Neys AKA Swoon is the judge.
Atticus Review is happy to announce our second annual Videopoem Contest judged by Swoon. You can submit up to 3 videopoems. The cost for entry is $10. You may submit video files or links to Vimeo or YouTube pages. Please no submissions from former students or close acquaintances of the Contest Judge. The videopoems can be previously published.
First Prize: $250 & Publication
Second Prize: $50 & Publication
Third Prize: Publication
Deadline: January 12th, 20120
Winner Announced: January 31st, 2020
SUBMIT HERE
ABOUT THE JUDGE:
Marc Neys / Swoon / No One
No One is a composer, Swoon a video-artist, and both personas reside in Marc Neys from Belgium.
As one of the leading and most prolific figures in modern videopoetry he made videopoems for and with writers from all over the globe. He inspired new creators through his workshops and showcases on videopoetry.
He creates works with a focus on the purely poetic quality of the moving image in relation to the spoken or written poem. A sophisticated interplay of constructed soundscapes and images with personal reflections. Through a visual language and references to his everyday life, he creates a framework in which the poems come to a different development.
He released 3 CDs over the last two years and his videos have been selected and featured at festivals all over the world.
Links:
https://musicfromnoone.bandcamp.com/
https://vimeo.com/swoon
Marc follows Moving Poems’ own Marie Craven, who judged the contest last year. (Here are the results.) Marc wrote about his philosophy on judging poetry film contests after his experience on the ZEBRA jury in 2016.
Film festival news: Art Visuals & Poetry program; calls for work from Carmethan Bay, At the Fringe
In last week’s round-up I gave the Art Visuals & Poetry Film Festival too brief a mention since I hadn’t found much in English. But I just got a bilingual press release from organizer Sigrun Höllrigl, so I can rectify that. Here’s the English portion of her email. Note that the link at the end also goes to an English-language schedule of events.
FOCUS USA / International film guests
The Art Visuals & Poetry Film Festival will take place for the fifth time from November 29 to December 1, 2019 at the METRO Kinokulturhaus in Vienna. In addition to four competition programmes, Poetry Live and film talks with international guests, numerous curated film programmes will be shown. This year’s focus is on poetry films from the USA. Founded in 2013 by Sigrun Höllrigl, the Poetry Film Festival has grown steadily since its beginnings and, with 101 film screenings on three days it is currently the second largest poetry film festival world-wide. In addition to Todd Boss (Motionpoems USA), film guests from Dubai, Belgium, Germany and Ireland have announced their arrival and are expected to attend. Including the domestic film scene, 40 contributing artists will join the festival.
FILM COMPETITIONS AND AUDIENCE AWARD
In 2019, two international competitions were announced and 170 films submitted, 63 art works came from Austria. The festival will award cash prizes to 4 films: The Main Jury Prize and Special Award (poem by Sophie Reyer) will be awarded on the recommendation of the jury. The Hubert Sielecki Prize goes to an Austrian poetry film of his choice. This year, for the first time, the Audience Prize will be awarded among international films. Have a look at the festival and vote for the winner on Saturday night! Festival tickets can be ordered via the ticket service of the Metro Kinokulturhaus. Phone +43 1 512 18 03 daily from 14:00–21:00 or via reservierung@filmarchiv.at
Find the festival programme online https://www.poetryfilm-vienna.com/en/timetable/2019
We are looking forward to welcoming you at the festival!
* * *
My co-editor Marie Craven is currently on the road (for the poetry film cause) but alerted me to two new-to-me festivals that are still open for submissions:
Carmarthen Bay Film Festival
This Welsh festival includes a POETIC CINEMA section for the first time this year:
Poetry film is a subgenre of film that fuses the use of spoken word poetry, visual images, and sound to create a stronger presentation and interpretation of the meaning being conveyed. This fusion of image and spoken word (both independent and interdependent) creates what William Wees called the “Poetry-film” genre.
We are looking for Submissions that:
• Are based upon an interesting concept;
• Are innovative;
• Are well crafted; and
• Create an emotional resonance
The sidebar category dropdown elaborates:
Poets, filmmakers, and media artists are called to submit their work to this brand new category. We will accept submissions of poetry films, filmpoems, digital-poetry, poetry video, Cin(E)-Poetry, spoken word films, videopoema, visual poetry, poetrinca, media poetry, and all films that are visually driven by text. Eligible submissions must have a maximum length of 40 minutes. CBFF cannot be held liable or responsible for any claim involving copyright, trademark, credits, or royalty infringement.Entries that are not in English must be subtitled in English.
Unfortunately, it’s rather pricey to enter—currently USD $45—so I kind of doubt that they’ll get many submissions from the more avant-garde sub-genres they include in their list. This strikes me as a bunch of film industry types wanting to add a bit of experimental cachet to their program, while not actually welcoming scruffier poets and auteurs. Interesting as a possible sign of the times, though.
AT THE FRINGE International Arts Festival
AT THE FRINGE International Arts Festival will take place in Tranås (Sweden) from 27th June to 4th July 2020.
The film section of the festival is focused on screening experimental films and videopoems from all over the world and we are happy to open the new call for films!
Submit your film in one of these three sections: […]
GEMS – OPEN CALL FOR VIDEOPOEMS
A collection of precious stones. We are looking for videopoems, those films that stand on the border between audiovisual languages and words – written or performed. The festival is open to national and international filmmakers. Any film with no limitation of theme or duration is welcome to apply.
[…]
The videopoems submitted must have a duration of maximum 30 minutes (opening and ending credits included). They must include subtitles in English or Swedish (where the original language is not one of these two). There is no limitation for the number of works that each author can submit.
It’s great to see something like this in Sweden. And this time, the entry fee is more affordable: USD $10. The deadline is 31 March.
Call for entries: 2020 Weimar Poetry Film Prize
As of November 1, the fifth annual Weimar Poetry Film Prize is open for submissions. And this time, it has its own festival.
Through the new film award, the Literary Society of Thuringia and the study field Multimedia narration of the Bauhaus University are looking for innovative poetry films. Filmmakers from any nation and of any age are welcome to participate with up to three short films of up to 10:00 mins, which should explore the relation between film and written poetry in an innovative, straightforward way. Films that are produced before 2017 will not be considered.
From all submitted films selected for the festival competition three Jury members will choose the winner of the main prize (1000 € Best Animation, 1000,- € Best Video). Moreover, an audience award of 250 € will be awarded.
In 2020, the Weimar Poetry Film Prize will be awarded for the first time as part of its own festival – the International Poetry Film Festival of Thuringia – which will take place from May to July 2020 in several cities in Thuringia. The core program (with the award ceremony) takes place from June 12th–14th in Weimar.
The competition »Weimar Poetry Film Award« is financed by Kulturstiftung des Freistaats Thüringen and the City of Weimar.
Deadline: March 31st, 2020
The Form for submissions [pdf] by e-mail to info[at]poetryfilm.de is coming soon.
The »Weimar Poetry Film Award« call for entries is international. For the submission please send with the other informations a quotable text of the related poem in German or English.
Presentation of awards: June 13th, 2020 at the Lichthaus cinema Weimar.
Call for work: REELpoetry/Houston TX 2020
I apologize for not sharing this back on August 15, the opening date, but videopoets and poetry filmmakers still have until December 9 to submit work for this Texas-based festival, now in its second year.
REELpoetry/Houston TX 2020 is an international poetry film festival screening cinepoetry, documentaries, performance video, plus panels, workshops & more JANUARY 24-26, 2020.
For complete guidelines and submissions:
Our first international poetry film festival took place March 22-24, 2019. You can read all about it HERE
It’s especially embarrassing that I forgot to share this earlier since I’ve agreed to be the judge. It’s a very exciting-sounding event, which filmmaker Pam Falkenberg attended last year and reviewed in these very virtual pages. She noted that “REELpoetry advocates a big-tent approach, preferring an expansive canon rather than a narrow one.” This year again
The Festival will also include workshops, live performances, talks, panel discussions, Q&A with poets and filmmakers. Come to meet international, national and local poets, film makers and artists, network and socialize, see and be seen. All screenings are centrally located and special hotel arrangements will be offered.
NOTE: Submissions in a language other than English must have an English translation of the poetry either presented in the film or as a written handout.
Awards & Prizes
Judges Award $225 Cinepoetry
Audience Award $225 CinepoetryJudges Award $225 Poetry Short Documentary
Audience Award $225 Poetry Short DocumentaryAudience Award $100 – Best Performance
Rules & Terms
REELpoetry 2020 is accepting film and video in three categories: (1) cinepoems (2) short poetry documentaries (3) spoken word videos. You are allowed up to 3 entries in each of the categories, each submitted separately, as follows:.
CINEPOEMS – 5 minutes max
Created by poets or filmmakers or artist collaborations.SHORT POETRY DOCUMENTARIES – 15 minutes max
May document the making of a poem, daily life of a poet, poetry event etc.All cinepoems and documentaries must include closing credits on the screen, and provide up to 3 stills max. You will also need to provide a short (75 word max) statement and brief bio for both the poet and filmmaker( (60 word max))
SPOKEN WORD VIDEO – 3 minutes max
Video of live performance, slam
NOTE: Attendance required. At the Festival you will perform live with your video in the background with the sound turned off.All submissions in a language other than English must have an English translation of the poetry either presented in the film or as a written handout.
By submitting to REELpoetry/Houston TX you acknowledge that work is yours, and that you have obtained permission(s) where required. You also agree to allow your work to be included in a curated series that will travel nationally and internationally.
NOTE: Public Poetry Members receive a 20% discount on the entry fee. Memberships start at $8/mo.
To join Public Poetry as a member go to: http://www.publicpoetry.net/membership-here/
Call for work: Visible Poetry Project 2020
Filmmaker applications and poetry submissions are open now through October 31 for the 2020 series of the Visible Poetry Project. As Marie noted just now in a post to the main site, VPP has been going since 2017, producing and publishing at least a video a day throughout the month of April. There’s also an off-line component to the project, with screenings in New York City and beyond. And in the first three years of its existence, more and more prominent poets and filmmakers have taken part, though as they say on the poetry submissions page, they “strive to emphasize the diversity of the global poetry community, and so encourage you to submit regardless of background or circumstance. Whether poetry is your hobby, profession, private outlet, or public expression, your work is welcome.” A similar statement occurs at the head of the filmmaker guidelines:
The Visible Poetry Project strives to emphasize the diversity of the global film community, and so encourage you to apply regardless of background or circumstance. Whether filmmaking is your hobby, profession, private outlet, or public expression, your work is welcome.
Within your application, please provide a reel and/or links to previous films you’ve created. All work samples must be original, and you must be one of the main contributors. You may submit up to three links. We recommend submitting samples that you believe to be representative of the greater styles and themes in your work. If you are accepted, this will help inform which poet you may get paired with.
You may apply as part of a team (up to two filmmakers). If you are applying as part of a team, please submit only one application. Please include links to reels for both collaborators, and send an email to visiblepoetryproject@gmail.com, CC’ing your co-director.
If you are a producer, director of photography, or editor, and are interested in being involved in the 2020 series, please email visiblepoetryproject@gmail.com.
Click through to apply. Or, if you write poetry, submit here.
Button Poetry 2019 Video Contest open through August 31
As usual, I missed the announcement and only remembered to search for it now, but you still have 11 days to submit to Button Poetry‘s annual video contest. The official guidelines are on Submittable:
We are thrilled to host our fourth annual open-submission video contest!
There are so many ways to record and present poetry, and we want to continue giving people around the world the chance to step up on the digital stage and share their work.
We are looking for brave work that crosses borders or effaces them completely, work that enters into larger social conversations, work that lives in the world, work with a strong, unique voice and palpable energy.
See our previous winners here and here for examples!
PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING CLOSELY
Submissions open on July 15th, 2019 and close on August 31st, 2019 at 11:59PM PST (US Time Zone).
PRIZE:
The winner’s video along with the videos of 5 runners-up will be featured across Button’s social media. The winner will receive a $500 honorarium. Additional entries may also be recognized and published.ENTRY FEE:
$8 per submission
$6 per submission for Young Writers (ages 18-21) and International Entrants (outside the U.S.)
Please, only one video per submission. Multiple submissions are welcome.
All entrants will receive 20% off any purchase from the Button Website.ELIGIBILITY:
- Age: You must be 18 years or older to enter (sorry!).
- Language: We welcome any poetry performance or poetry short film in any language, as long as non-English videos come with English subtitles.
- Previous Publication: Videos that have been previously published elsewhere are eligible, with the understanding that any selected video may need to be taken down from other locations on the internet.
RULES:
- Video Length: Videos must be 1-4 minutes in length.
- File Size: File size may not exceed 1GB.
- Submission Format: Videos must be submitted using the submission manager on this page. Most common video file-types are accepted.
- Rights: You MUST own the complete, transferable rights to ALL elements of the submission. This includes but is not limited to text, audio, video, and images.
- Collaborative Poems: Collaborative poems are fine!
- Video Quantity: Only one video per submission. Multiple submissions are welcomed.
Please note that submissions which do not meet these rules may be disqualified.
CONTEST PROCESS:
- Judges: Members of the Button Poetry staff and a carefully selected group of artists and judges will review all submissions to determine the winner, runners up, honorable mentions, and any other videos we may be interested in running.
- Notices: You will be notified of your submission status as the contest progress, via email to the address you used to make your submission(s) with. This will be done on a rolling basis as we move through the stages of the contest.
- Timeline: The duration of judging will depend on the quantity of entries we receive, so we’ll keep folks posted on our social media about the contest. Please expect it to take a few months, however, as we want to give your submissions the attention they deserve!
- Honorable Mentions: If you would like to be considered as an honorable mention in the following categories, please note your eligibility in your submission form. Categories include: International Entry (outside the United States) and Young Writers (ages 18-21).
- Contact: Due to the high volume of submissions and questions we receive, please refer to our Video Contest FAQ before reaching out. We cannot guarantee a timely response to all questions. Any questions not covered in the FAQ can be emailed to: contest@buttonpoetry.com
SOME TIPS & SUGGESTIONS:
- Contact Email: The email address and name you use for your submission are what we will use to contact you. This is how we will let you know the status of your submission as the contest progresses.
- Video Quality: While video and audio quality will be one factor in the judging process, the quality of the poem and performance themselves will be weighted much more heavily. That said, if possible, please use high-quality audio and video.
- Tip: If you’re filming this yourself on a smartphone or similar, then try to do it inside, somewhere that’s well-lit, and without background noise. Consider turning your phone horizontal while filming!
- Tip: If you’re using a video of a live performance, like an open mic or slam, take care with the audio. Try to be closer to the performer so they can still be heard over the audience.
We look forward to seeing your powerful and important work!
Click through to submit. Button Poetry has, among other things, the most popular poetry channel on YouTube, so winners have the chance to reach thousands of viewers/listeners. Here’s the 2018 winner, Sanam Sheriff’s “A Pulse, After Orlando”:
And here’s Elisabet Velasquez’s “Elephant”, which took top honors in 2017:
