Cinepoems is “a new organisation for exploring, developing and promoting filmpoetry in Scotland, Quebec and everywhere,” and “is currently run by poet Rachel McCrum (Edinburgh) and a loose collective of film makers and poets in Scotland and Quebec.” This week they announced their first live event, a 48-hour challenge for poetry filmmakers.

What?

It’s the first live event from cinepoems in Scotland! Poets, writers, filmmakers, performers, artists…your participation is wanted! Let’s make some filmpoems in one glorious weekend…

 

The challenge….

Get a team together. Find something to film with. Some editing software (you will probably have this on your computer already). Get yourself to Glasgow University on Friday 2nd December for a workshop and registration and then GO!

You have 48 hours to write, film, edit and submit a filmpoem (up to 5 minutes long), and then be at the Andrew Stewart Cinema, University of Glasgow, for 6pm on Sunday 4th December. All filmpoems will then be screened, and our panel of judges will award prizes to the top three filmpoems. Other hijinks will ensue.

 

What do you mean by ‘filmpoetry’?

Film + poetry, image + text + sound (maybe). It’s that simple. Filmpoetry, videopoetry, cinepoetry…whatever you want to call it…is an artform that has been around as long as cinema. From the experiments of Dada artists in the 1920s to the work of Scottish artist Margaret Tait to viral videos on Youtube today. It can include performance, text on screen, animation, abstract images, sound. There are hundreds of ways to make filmpoems, as many different forms as there are forms of poetry or genres of film.

We’ll be releasing some more examples of filmpoems over the next few weeks, along with tips on filming, editing and formats. Keep an eye on the blog here, and follow us on @cine_poems on Twitter or join the Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/cinepoems.

In the meantime, these sites might give you some ideas:

• Moving Poems: https://movingpoems.com/
• filmpoem : http://filmpoem.com/
• LUX online : http://www.luxonline.org.uk/
• ZEBRA poetry film festival: http://www.zebrapoetryfilm.org/2016
• Liberated Words: http://liberatedwords.com/
• Videopoetry: A manifesto – Tom Konyves https://critinq.wordpress.com/2012/10/13/videopoetry-a-manifesto-by-tom-konyves/

Watch some. The key components are text, image and sound (not necessarily in that order). Don’t get intimidated or bogged down in either terminology or technology. The aim of this event is get people together and creating: DIY, grassroots, punk filmmaking, poetry, sound. Be bold, be brave, be beautiful. Let’s throw the cats out.

The only rules for the 48hour event are…

• The filmpoem MUST be written and filmed over the 48 hours of the December weekend – no cheating with pre-made films or pre-written poems!
• The filmpoem must be under 5 minutes long.
• The submitting team (or at least a representative) must be there IN PERSON to deliver the finished filmpoem to the cinepoems team by 6pm on Sunday 4th December at the Andrew Stewart Cinema, University of Glasgow. Online entries will not be accepted. However, online registration for the event will be open 5- 6pm on Friday 2nd December if you can’t make the workshop in person. 

Does it cost anything?
Cost of registration is £10* per team. Payable in person on 2nd December or via online registration, which will open on the day.

 

What next?

Follow cinepoems on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/cinepoems

and on Twitter here: @cine_poems

for further updates over the next few weeks. Get the dates in your diary. Get a team together. See you on the 2nd December!

Love

the cinepoems team

 

*cinepoems is a non-profit organisation. All fees from this event will go towards venue hire and fees for judges.