~ News and Views ~
Conversation with Poetry Film Live editors
Last summer, I met with Helen Dewbery and Chaucer Cameron, the editors of Poetry Film Live and co-producers of many poetry films themselves, for a wide-ranging discussion that lasted several hours. Helen has just edited and released an 11-minute video from that conversation:
I’m told that at least one more selection from our conversation might be in the works. In the meantime, I believe there are still some openings for the two-day workshop Helen and Chaucer are leading in Poole on 13-14 January.
Film Poetry Weekend Course in Poole, UK, January 13-14
This sounds like a terrific deal: a two-day workshop with Helen Dewbery and Chaucer Cameron (Elephant’s Footprint, Poetry Film Live) for less than £20. Here’s the description on Eventbright:
As part of Light Up Poole’s film poetry competition, Poole Museum are hosting this fantastic film poem weekend course. Learn the ins and outs of film poetry on this two-day course, led by Helen Dewberry and Chaucer Cameron.
Day 1 (10am-4pm)
Day one will be an introduction to film poetry, from theory to practise. By the end of the day, you will have created your very own film poem, and have an understanding of its significance, as well as the various genres.
- Understanding film poetry.
- Genre.
- The creative process – text, filming, sound and editing.
- Creating your first film poem using archive footage.
Day 2 (12pm-4pm)
Participants will be supported to plan and make their own personal film poem. You are welcome to bring your own equipment for this process.
We will give a demonstration using iMovie. For Windows users, please download Movie Maker before the session. You are welcome to use any other software you are familiar with.
Limited editing equipment is available for loan during the sessions.
For more information and concessions, email matt@artfulscribe.co.uk.
If you’re a poet curious about poetry film, and especially if you’d like to enter the Lighthouse Poole competition judged by Lucy English and Sarah Tremlett, here’s your chance. Click through to register.
Chaucer Cameron and Helen Dewbery
Speaking of Chaucer and Helen, be sure to visit Poetry Film Live. They’ve got the Christmas decorations up and are posting new poetry films and features all month long.
Poetry film festival news round-up
Current open calls for submission
Some upcoming deadlines:
- 2018 Film and Video Poetry Symposium (31 December)
- Light Up Poole (26 January)
- Newlyn Film Festival (31 January)
- Weimar Poetry Film Award (31 January)
Winners announced for VI CYCLOP International Poetry Film Festival
An email newsletter on Tuesday shared the results of the just-concluded festival in Kyiv, Ukraine:
Breaking News! ⚡
Yesterday, November 26, at the closure of the VI CYCLOP Videopoetry Festival at Port Creative Hub, the winners of the CYCLOP Videopoetry Contests were announced and summed up.
Time to announce winners!
🏅 Nomination «Debut» | Ukrainian program
Oleksandra Proms’ka «When the sun has long gone …» (Rivne)🏅 Nomination «Experiment» | Ukrainian program
Eugene Umanov «A rubber little ball» (Mykolayiv)🏆 Audience Award | International program
Radheya Jegatheva «iRony» (Australia)🏆 Audience Award | Ukrainian program
Eugene Vorozheykin «Lonely Man» (Kyiv)🥉 3rd place | Ukrainian program
Arsen Podosyan «It’s worth it?» (Odesa)🥈 2nd place | Ukrainian program
Eugene Vorozheykin «Lonely Man» (Kyiv)🥇 1st place | Ukrainian program
Olha Fraze-Frazenko «The blindworm» (Lviv)🥇 1st place | International program
Manuel Vilarinho «Calling All» (Portugal)Congratulations to the winners! :) 👏
Visit the CYLOP Facebook page for photos from the festival.
Cinema Poetica winners
This small festival debuted in Oregon in late October. I received an email from the director back on Nov. 18 and forgot to post it:
Kudos and congratulations! Cinema Poetica 2017 screened ten short poetry films at our first international festival. The ten films:
City of My Heart, Kostas Petsas, Greece (Grand Prize Winner)
Love’s River of Errors, Dave Richardson, U.S. (Audience Favorite)
Falling, Dave Bonta, U.S. (Finalist)
Spring on the Strand, AD Cooper, U.K. (Finalist)
Old Rain Temple, Kim Stafford, U.S.(Finalist)
Letter from Avostanis, Luca Fornasiero, Italy
Body Talk, Amy Bobeda, U.S.
Night Court, Erica Goss, U.S.
Love, Judith Barrington, U.S.
I’ve Never Felt this Way Before, Courtney Ross, U.S.All viewable at https://vimeo.com/album/4821195
A month of women’s poetry film: some observations and questions
Film critic Laura Mulvey in 2010 (photo: Mariusz Kubik, CC BY 3.0)
Did you notice? I didn’t notice myself until about two weeks in that I’d only been posting videos or films directed by women and featuring the work of women poets. At that point, I wondered how long I could keep it up (pretty much indefinitely, it turns out) and whether anyone would ever notice and ask about it (no one has). The last video featuring a male poet was on 27 October (“The Laundry Can Wait” by Cyril Wong, directed by Sarah Howell), and the last film directed by a man was on 24 October (“Dancing Lesson” by Rachel Kann, directed by Bradford L. Cooper). Which is not to say that men haven’t played key roles in making some of the things I’ve featured since, as editors, videographers, composers, etc., just that women occupied the lead roles.
The point of this post is not what a great, enlightened guy I am (ask my partner how often I interrupt her in the course of an average conversation). But it seemed like a fitting response to the on-going revelations of rampant sexual harassment and assault in Hollywood and beyond. And the exercise does raise some interesting questions, I think:
1. There are a LOT of good women directors of poetry films at all levels of professionalism and ability. So many of them are now “regulars” at Moving Poems that I can go quite a few days without posting anything made by a man, purely by chance, just as sometimes I may go for a week or two without posting any women. Does this mean that the number of men and women active in poetry film and videopoetry is roughly equal? Or might it be partly because male directors gravitate toward certain types of poetry (Charles Bukowski, for example) or filmmaking (superficially pretty shots) that don’t interest me as much? I’m really not sure.
2. Contrary to stereotype, female poets might be, if anything, less likely than their male counterparts to shy away from the technical challenges of making their own videopoems. Or perhaps women are just more adventuresome, or less likely than men to be narrowly focused on following traditional routes of advancement as poets?
3. Thinking about the major, long-term collaborative partnerships in the world of English-language poetry film, I actually can’t think of any that are exclusively male. If both partners aren’t female, than either the poet or the filmmaker is going to be a woman. I’m sure there must be exceptions to this, but the fact that I can’t think of any off-hand dovetails with another thought I’ve often had over the years: Could it be that women are more open to creative collaboration in general?
4. As hybrid forms, videopoetry and poetry film benefit from hybrid visions. An openness to collaboration would therefore be a huge advantage. But mightn’t it also be a disadvantage from a careerist perspective, luring people away from a single-minded focus on their own work necessary to, for example, qualify for tenure at an American university?
5. The male gaze has long been a tool of oppression, reducing women to objects. It’s worth remembering that this very insight came originally from a feminist film critic (Laura Mulvey). So wanting to have more women behind the camera is potentially more than just a matter of wanting to be fair and give equal opportunity. Might it not open up the possibility of depicting the world in new, potentially revolutionary ways, as feminist film critics suggest? What might the female gaze and hypermediacy mean for poetry film in particular?
6. Do videopoems or poetry films made by women have any unique characteristics that we might identify? For example, are there certain kinds of shots that female filmmakers use more often than men? Do women gravitate more than men to certain strategies of juxtaposition or disjunction in videopoetry?
7. What about poems and films of feminist advocacy? Is it possible to be prescriptive and suggest the best poetry film-making strategies to move viewers toward a greater sympathy with and understanding of diverse perspectives?
8. I’m obviously no scholar, but I can think of one cynical explanation for why women directors and poets might be so well represented in poetry film and videopoetry right now: it’s not prestigious yet. Historically speaking, as soon as a woman-dominated art, craft or industry begins to make money, men elbow in and quickly take over, whether it’s brewing beer, making textiles, or even writing computer code — a woman-dominated field until the mid 1970s. Could the same thing happen with poetry film? If it does, one day editors like me might have to work quite a bit harder to avoid posting any male-directed films for a month.
I invite comments below on any of these points. Email me if you’d like to submit a post. (And personal stories are just as welcome as critical analysis.)
Ending net neutrality in the U.S. could be the end of Moving Poems
This week, I didn’t share any new videos at Moving Poems because it was a major holiday in the U.S. and not too many people were online. But if the new FCC chair (and former Verizon lawyer) Ajit Pai gets his way and net neutrality rules are overturned, my posts might be this sparse every week. Why? Because without net neutrality, it’s difficult to imagine that no-budget and low-budget filmmakers, video artists and remixers will be able to keep doing what they’re doing. Want to find good indie music for a soundtrack, for example? Good luck with that.
So imagine for a second a musician sells their own digital music — on their website, on Bandcamp, wherever. iTunes is riding in that fast lane. Spotify? Probably. But Bandcamp? The musician’s website? They’re more like a rusty BMX pulling a three-wheeled Radio Flyer wagon over a cracked sidewalk.
When someone buys digital music from an artist directly they’ll see long, slow downloads that hopefully manage to finish. When they stream music from that same musician’s site it’ll hang and pause unless it’s compressed to hell. But when that same person buys from iTunes? Smooth like butter.
Some fans will put up with the frustrating experience of buying direct from an artist because they know it’s better for them, but that’s not everyone. Expect direct-to-fan artist businesses to migrate to iTunes and Google. Without Title II net neutrality the web is just a battle of media titans with musicians caught in the crossfire. Artists who don’t sign everything over to big labels or plan to sell only through the biggest outlets will be hurt. The independent music world will be fundamentally changed. We’ve moved to a digital world. That isn’t going to change. Killing Title II net neutrality makes it even harder for independent musicians to survive in a digital landscape.
It’s hard to know what will happen with the big video hosting sites such as Vimeo and YouTube, but several analyses I’ve seen suggest they’ll become an extra paid option for most users, who might well just decide to stick with Netflix or Hulu. Websites like Moving Poems and Poetry Film Live are way out in the “long tail” of the internet — we’re nobody’s economic priority, and as the African proverb says, when elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers.
To put it simply, this is an existential threat to the internet as we know it. Here’s comedian John Oliver’s excellent and entertaining explainer from last May:
Public pressure is really critical over the next three weeks. So please help if you can — especially if you’re a U.S. citizen — and submit comments to the FCC as well as call or write to Congress, and consider joining street protests.
Hopefully this will all be going to court, and if this TechCrunch article is correct, the FCC may have a hard time justifying its definition of how the internet works. For more political analysis, here are Cenk Uygur and Ana Kasparian from the Young Turks:
As for me, I agree with this guy:
https://twitter.com/daveanthony/status/933237649980121088
Poetry Film Competition: Light Up Poole
Submissions are requested from poets and filmmakers as part of Light Up Poole, a unique digital Light Art Festival aiming to transform Poole’s town centre after dark from 15-17 February 2018.
Focussing on a theme of ‘Identity’, festival organisers are looking for films, up to a maximum of three minutes, that address the topic and consider how identity is reflected in contemporary society. What does it mean to be an individual, a member of a family, a worker in the city, in a rural setting, a person living in Britain today?
For the purpose of this submission request, a poetry film is defined as a fusion of spoken/written word with visual images where the combination of media provide a richer experience than either the spoken/written word or visual images could do on their own. In this instance, a poetry film isn’t simply a video recording of a poet reading a poem. The poetry film can also include music.
Prizes
Ten short-listed films will be shown at select venues in Poole’s town centre throughout the duration of the festival, with further screenings as a prelude to main cinema screenings at Lighthouse Poole during March/April 2018. The winning film will receive £500, to be shared between poet and film-maker in the case of collaborations.
Links to films must be received by 26th January 2018. High Definition files will be required for short-listed films.
Please send to matt@artfulscribe.co.uk
Judges
Lucy English is co-creator of the poetry film organisation, Liberated Words, which curates and screens poetry films. Lucy is best known as a performance poet who has published three novels and is currently a Reader at Bath Spa University where she teaches on the undergrad and Master’s Creative Writing courses. Her specialisms include writing for digital platforms.
Sarah Tremlett, MPhil, FRSA, SWIP, is a British poetry filmmaker, artist and arts theorist/writer, with a first-class honours degree in Fine Art and an MA in Creative Writing from Bath Spa University. In 2012, she co-founded Liberated Words poetry film events with poet and novelist Lucy English to screen international poetry filmmakers alongside films made in the community, and co-conceived MIX conference, Bath Spa University.
Guidelines
Entry is free to anyone, and should be made via email to matt@artfulscribe.co.uk including the following info in an attached word document:
- Name and duration of Film
- 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.
You may submit as many entries as you like. Films must interpret, be based on, or convey the festival theme. Non-English language films will require English subtitles.
Art Visuals & Poetry Film Festival Vienna 2017 winners announced
From the front page of poetryfilm-vienna.com/en:
ART VISUALS & POETRY FILMFESTIVAL VIENNA NOV 4 – 6, 2017
The award winners 2017
People, we had three great days with lots of fantastic poetry shorts. The festival donates 5 prizes. The festival awarded the Austrian animator Gudrun Krebitz for her film “Exomoon” with the main festival prize. The Rilke Competition prize or Special Award goes to Sebastian and Daniel Selke for their interpretation “rilke überoffen”. The only Honorable Mention of the Vienna Poetry Film Festival goes to Andrea Capranico from Italy for “The Landscape Within”. The Hubert Sielecki Award for the best Austrian poetry film of the festival goes to Moritz Stieber “Die Tatsachen im Fall Waldemar”. The OKTO audience award goes to Christian Heinbockel for his film “Lass uns von Liebe sprechen” or “Let´s speak about love”. Stay tuned. We will publish the jury statements soon!
Go here for the post in German.
Call for submissions: Weimar Poetry Film Award
Once again, the annual backup_festival at Bauhaus University and the Literary Society of Thuringia are cooperating to sponsor a poetry film prize in association with Poetryfilmkanal. The 2018 Weimarer Poetryfilmpreis is now open for submissions. Here’s the English version of their bilingual call:
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
Through the new film award, backup_festival and Literarische Gesellschaft Thüringen e.V. (LGT) 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 8:00 mins, which should explore the relation between film and written poetry in an innovative, straightforward way. Films that are produced before 2015 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 €). Moreover, an audience award of 250 € will be awarded.
The competition »Weimar Poetry Film Award« is financed by Kulturstiftung des Freistaats Thüringen, Thüringer Staatskanzlei and the City of Weimar.
Deadline: January 31th, 2018.
Form for submissions [pdf] by mail or e-mail.
Literarische Gesellschaft Thüringen e. V.
Marktstraße 2–4
99423 Weimar, Germany
Email: info@poetryfilmkanal.de
The »Weimar Poetry Film Award« call for entries is international. For the submission send with the other informations a quotable text of the related poem in German or English.
Presentation of awards: June 2nd, 2018.
More information about the program: www.backup-festival.de.
Link.
Rabbit Heart Poetry Film Festival 2017: Director’s Recap
Editor’s note: All week I’ve been sharing the winning films from RHPFF 2017, so I thought it only fitting that we wrap up with director Sou MacMillan’s perspective on how things went, reprinted from her personal blog. Be sure also to visit the Rabbit Heart YouTube channel to watch all the shortlisted films (conveniently arranged into playlists by category) as well as videos of the acceptance speeches and other snippets from the festival. And I just want to say to other poetry film festival directors: I’m sure it’s exhausting to put on something like this, but please do consider trying to document your events also, as Sou does, so we can all take inspiration from them. I’ll do my part by linking or reprinting here. —Dave
Festival? How was the festival this year? you ask. Well!
Let me start here:
Behold the perfect tool for your sustenance, the humble crockpot.
No, wait – lemme start here:
Rachel dearest sent that off from the bus on her way out of Worcester on Tuesday morning, and I blubbed some happy tears when I saw it.
Nonono – wait – listen:
I think I didn’t manage to put down 2016’s show until almost a year after the fact – there was just So Much. Too much, even. Dearest Bill’s heart surgery on October 5th, the flash floods day before show that washed out Nick’s, all that focus on waiting for the power to come back & the last-minute move over to HPCC. It was a rush, for sure, but really, let’s not do it like that again, k? And even with the grant reimbursement* wrapped up and the trophies mailed & the prize payments made, and the 2017 logo set up & stickers ordered, and the new season ready to go, it still sort of dragged on as this stressful pulsing echo, like, for months.** Until about a week before festival, I wasn’t even sure I was ready. I had nightmares about being pregnant in Patagonia (which, of course, was part of Peru, whut) & stamping around about it, y‘all.
And then Rabbit Heart this year? It was AMAZING. Ah-May-ZING.
Some stuff we learned last year was that you really can’t stuff 70+ people into Nick’s without a crowbar and some mad engineering skillz.*** So, armed with that knowledge, we intentionally split the 2017 show, and put together a matinee this year – which I panicked about for a hot minute (Will people come? Will I throw a party, and will people come to it? AND WHAT ABOUT BRUNCH?!) until I realized that it gave us o,somuchmoreroom! to show more films (\o/), and that lots of people nabbed those tickets because they were stoked (!!) and wanted to see more poetryfilm! And they came! We threw a party and people came! And they enjoyed the stuffing out of it! Hello, I am over the moon remembering all the smiles and hugs.
And then – and then – AND THEN! The awards ceremony! Our emcees for the night, Tony Brown & Melissa Mitchell, omg – these two glamorous bastards – I need a moment to get my marbles back in the jar here, because WOW.
Tony and Missy on the red carpet
Let us all fan ourselves off a minute here -whew!- Ok, steampuk became the theme for the night, Missy was armed to the teeth (check out that hawt whip, y’all), and the tone was set from the moment they stepped on the stage. So. GOOD.
The caliber of film this year made me wicked proud – I’m absolutely thrilled with the judges’ picks.† I can’t even pick the most stand-out-y of the bunch, because I kept falling in love over and over. You should go check out the 2017 Finalists Page and the R<3 YouTube page to see – grab a coffee and your comfiest hoodie, ‘cos you’ll want to be there a while <6
All that said, I need to tell you about the winner of Best Overall Production – Rachel Kann’s Dancing Lesson (Or How to Let the Words Leave You), made with Brad Cooper & Atom Smith – even just thinking about it right now makes all the little hairs stand up on my arms. Because you need to know: the women in that film with Rachel? Dancing like the queens they are? They are not professional dancers or actors. That’s Rachel’s Zumba class. (And I was told the shoot was a dream, and the hardest part of the whole she-bang was getting the colored Holi powder out of the sets three months after the fact. Which, of course, amuses me to no end.) RACHEL’S ZUMBA CLASS! Here – check it out.
There was so much dance this year! And it brought me to a place of joy I didn’t even know about. Sure, interpretive dance is an easy mark for eyeroll – we’ve all been to that one poetry reading, right? But this year, watching the subs roll in was a total game/perspective-changer – we got a ton of really good interpretive dance poetryfilms. The more interpretive dance I saw over the year, the more I realized how much I just love the stuff! And to be able to show films at the showcase matinee? Like Jeremy Hahn and Stephen Beitler’s Dances for the End of the World Ch 2, and videopoem I Am Life/ Soy Vida by Jose Alirio Rojas? It just set me soaring.
But but but! But omg, also the people! My very favorite thing about festival happened again this year – it became a gathering for some of my very favorite people. And getting to meet filmmakers and people new to the festival just leaves me bursting all over. I got to meet the winners of the WCPA-sponsored Shoots! Youth prize, Luz Emma Cañas & Ella Quinn who came in from NYC, I got to meet the producer of the Best Smartphone Production, Eduardo Guerra who came in from NY, I got to meet Nick who came out from CT for his friend Aleksandr Kirienko’s film, and the winners of The Marble Collection’s fundraiser raffle, and the folks who won the Sprinkler Factory’s raffle,†† and I got to meet director Brad Cooper and his lovely friend Linda, and I got to meet Aisha Naseem’s parents and their housemate Alex, and everyone was so lovely! And I got to reconnect with friends who traveled in from afar! Filmmakers Cassidy Parker Knight & Jeff Knight came in from Austin TX, and Rachel came in from LA, and Eric Darby came in from San Francisco, and Linda Jackson and filmmakers Aisha Naseem and Adom Balcom came in from western MA – and friends who came in from right here in town – Molly McArthur and Kerry McGurl who were our perfect ushers, Tony & Missy (natch), #TeamSalli, Sarah Meigs & Alli Jutras (our badass interns for 2017), and Birgit Straehle (who gilded our first place trophy!) & Luis Antonio Fraire, and two of last year’s exquisite judges, April & Ted Desmond, Isaac Baron and Sylvia Bagalio, and Rushelle Frazier and Jenith Charpentier and Angeline Bilotta who were judges this year, and Gary Hoare, who’s been a finalist and winner at R<3 three times now, and Angel, who’s been a judge twice, and Bob Gill (who judged our first year) & Ted Blackler, and and and and AND! It all happened in the company of family – what warm delight to share this with my dear husband Bill, and my brother Allan and my father-in-law Charlie††† who have been pulling this boat along with me for four years now (omg, fam – you are The Best).
And for real, Nick’s took such good care of us – huge kudos and thank yous to Nicole & Sean & the rest of the staff on Saturday for making such good space for us and treating us like a Very Big Deal. They made sure we had the sound and projector up and running, and a place for our red carpet, and that the popcorn & drinkies & treats flowed (Have you ever had a pretzel there?? Seriously. If you haven’t, you’re totally missing out, so you should do that).
What I mean to say is that this year tore me open in all the good ways. All this to say Thank You.
xoxox,
Apple
*Thank you WAC & MCC!
**I’m 100% sure some of that had to do with the US elections. That garbage storm is still cascading horrific on the daily.
***So the basement over at HPCC actually solved that problem >.>
†It wasn’t until after festival that I realized that all our winning films were made by women \o/ There’s something here that I have been struggling to put my finger on over the last few years – what is it about poetryfilm that lends women such good license, that allows them to give themselves permission to excel? Jenith & I keep spilling coffee over and spending time on this topic, and it never ceases to keep me feeling alive in my own skin.
††You have an osm arts org that wants fundraiser tickets? Talk to me!
†††Who totally saved our bacon last year with the whole venue thing. Thank you, Charlie!
ps! Omg, guise – LITERALLY, as I was writing this, my phone chirped and told me it made a movie memory out of the bazillionty pictures (ok, 372) I took at Rabbit Heart on Saturday – oh iPhone, you amazing creature, you <6 and it’s totally darling. Here it is –
pps – that song that everyone at festival can’t get out of their head? It’s by Erin K, and it’s amazing. Here – have a listen
Call for poetry submissions and filmmaker applications: Visible Poetry Project
The Visible Poetry Project, which released thirty poetry films—one a day—during April last year, and held several screenings in New York and Beijing, is aiming to do this same in 2018.
The Visible Poetry Project was founded in 2017 with the goal of bringing together a collective of filmmakers to create a series of videos that present poems as short films. Drawing from works created by renowned poets, including Neil Gaiman and Tato Laviera, as well as emerging poets, the Visible Poetry Project strives to make poetry accessible, exploring how we can recreate and experience poems through the medium of film.
Throughout the month of April – National Poetry Month – we release one visual poem each day. An exercise in translation and a reclamation of both poetic and film discourses, the resulting thirty videos explore how we read, interpret, visualize, and hear poetry.
Submissions are now open for the Visible Poetry Project 2018 series. If you would like to be involved with the Visible Poetry Project, or have any questions about our organization, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at visiblepoetryproject@gmail.com.
Here are the guidelines for filmmakers.
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 2018 series, please email visiblepoetryproject@gmail.com.
Click through to submit an application. For poets, there’s a similar openness to all backgrounds and levels of professionalism. There’s a reading fee of just $2.75, though “an additional donation beyond this amount is suggested, and will go towards Visible Poetry Project’s operating expenses for the 2018 series.” Here’s the link to submit poetry.
Filmpoem Festival 2017 program released
The Filmpoem Festival slated for Saturday, 28 October in Lewes, UK has released a very full and innovative program.
Some of the UK’s best spoken word poets come together to perform live, integrated with films inspired by poetry. Depot screens film poems from around the world and shows some fantastic national poetry competition films. And then it’s your turn – we round the evening off with an open mic session.
Helmie Stil, organiser of this year’s festival and filmmaker, created this trailer mainly from footage of the new 10 National Poetry Competition Films which will be shown at the festival. Original music by Lennert Busch.
The events include:
- Première of two short animation films made by children during the Depot workshop, inspired by a poem by Colin West
- Live poetry performances by Louisa Campbell, Maria Jastrzębska and Siân Thomas
- Dean Atta will perform his poetry live, show his own poetry films, and also present three of his favorite poetry films from the South East
- Filmpoem and The Poetry Society present the 10 National Poetry Competition 2016 winners realized as poetry-film
- Madi Maxwell-Libby performs her poetry live, followed by a screening of the documentary We Belong, featuring Madi and seven other UK poets and spoken word artists on ‘state of the nation’ themes
- Ross Sutherland’s live performance of Stand-By For Tape Back-Up, his well-reviewed videopoem about memory, death and re-runs
- Open Competition winners presentation and screening
- Matt Abbott performs his poetry live and shows his poetry films
- Salena Godden, one of UK’s best spoken word poets, will perform exciting new work live, and will show, amongst other short films, her newest film poem RED, written and filmed in response to the tampon tax and period poverty
- Open mic
A hearty congratulations to the organizers for such an exciting line-up! Book your tickets today.
