Midwest Video Poetry Fest Day ONE

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. MVPF will be the first of its kind in Wisconsin and will present the work of local, national, and international poets and filmmakers. Our curators screened over 1600 videos totaling nearly 160 hours to bring you the very best in video poetry.

Please note: dates have changed. The festival is free and open to the public and will be live on ALL's YouTube channel. Subscribe now for this and other great content.

Midwest Video Poetry Fest is presented by American Family Insurance DreamBank, with additional support from FilmFreeway, New American Press, the Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets, and Willy St. Co-op. The festival is also supported in part by a grant from Dane Arts, with additional funds from the Endres Mfg. Company Foundation, The Evjue Foundation, Inc., charitable arm of The Capital Times, the W. Jerome Frautschi Foundation, and the Pleasant T. Rowland Foundation.

Day One Program

Thursday, November 19 at 7 PM CST

1) Born Like a Bullet (3m30s)
Directed by Jimmy Fernandez
Written by Matthew "Cuban" Hernandez
Chile

"Born Like a Bullet" is a collaboration project which combines poetry, dance and film, all in one, with the objective of creating awareness of our heritage and human rights. We want to let the world know that we are proud of being latinos.

2) Pied Piper (3m22s)
Directed by Parashar Naik
Written by Rabindranath Tagore
India

A child recites the poem “Where The Mind Is Without Fear” by Rabindranath Tagore, about an ideal country. Meanwhile an unseen person wraps everyone in newspaper (information), leads them to a cliff, then encourages them to jump off.

3) These Homes: Ghazals at the Ends of America (6m50s)
Directed by Victor Xia
Written by Victor Xia, Minnie Zhang, Alfred Yu, Stella Li, Celine Choi
United States

Five young Asian-American poets across the U.S. explore their respective locales through ghazals and Google street images. This collaborative work deals with the negotiation of distance through foreign eyes, and the contradictions and common ground of our identities.

4) Moss (1m13s)
Directed by Jane Glennie
Written by Natalie Whittaker
United Kingdom

A poem that began as a close description of moss leads to a new way to see--and to grapple with--depression.

5) I Was an Ocean Away (1m40s)
Directed by Jeffrey Poherski
Written by Marilyn Annucci
Wisconsin, United States

A young American student studying abroad reflects on what it means when no one else can say where you are.

6) Grindhouse (2m36s)
Directed by Hailey Miller
Written by Ruby Albright
Colorado, United States

Spoken word artist Ruby Albright presents her take on who we are.

7) First (1m42s)
Directed by Nikolaus Jantsch
Written by Sophie Reyer
Austria

Deceptively simple animation contrasts with words that traverse large swathes of time, weaving together old myths and the human longing for connection and meaning.

8) Mexicans Lost in Mexico (2m45s)
Directed by Irit Reinheimer
Written by Nico Amador
Pennsylvania, United States
Irit Reinheimer's Website

A collaboration between a filmmaker and poet, 'Mexicans Lost in Mexico' adapts archival footage, sound and poetic text to capture a memory through a circuitous and imperfect recalling.

9) Depleted Reality (2m40s)
Directed by Polina Komyagina
Written by Polina Komyagina
Russian Federation

"Depleted Reality" is a fully experimental half-narrative no-budget DIY video art piece in which a girl gets lost in a forest while hunting the bugs in her head. Wild Witches of the forest read her a parable in Russian.

10) Papaya (2m01s)
Directed by Satwik Mukherjee, Rajdeep Mark Hira
Written by Satwik Mukherjee
India

Haunting music, creative transitions, and a charismatic lead (played by director Rajdeep Mark Hira) make this poetic video exploring identity and human nature a must-see.

11) How Do You Read (8m05s)
Directed by Sharon Houkema
Written by Sharon Houkema
Netherlands
Sharon Houkema's Website

"How Do You Read" poetically evokes the spirit of bunker "Five Victor Echo Charlie" (5VEP) located in Arnhem, NL. During the Cold War 5VEP functioned as a booster station to control the pressure on a secret network of fuel pipelines spanning from North Sea coastline well into Germany.

12) This Is Just to Say (30s)
Directed by Joseph Puglisi
Written by Joseph Puglisi
Colorado, United States
Joseph Puglisi's Website

A contemporary take on William Carlos Williams’s modern classic.

13) fine china. (3m25s)
Directed by David A. Gaines, Ruby Johnston
Written by David A. Gaines
Pennsylvania, United States
Dave G. Poetry Website

A man reflects on his grandmother's fine china cabinet and familial patriarchal influences.

14) Directions on Living Near an Abandoned Tennis Court (2m20s)
Directed by Andrew J. Knox
Written by Andrew J. Knox
Maryland, United States

An experimental examination of the re-purposing of space as it deteriorates.

15) I Am Not You Are (1m41s)
Directed by Lina Ramona Vitkauskas
Written by Lina Ramona Vitkauskas
Canada
Lina Ramona Vitkauskas Website

Did Mina Loy have a publicist? Did Wallace Stevens go on tour? “I Am Not You Are” illustrates the metaphorical tug between “contributing” (economic) member of society (consumer) and a waning citizen (unidentifiable in a petri of metrics and forced identity).

16) A Manual (or memoir), For Learning (or knowing), About a Tentative (or fleeting), Ticking Thought Machine (or being) (8m05s)
Directed by Ayesha Raees
Written by Ayesha Raees
Vermont, United States

A four-part video poem about a displaced individual in the current American landscape narrated by a cold, systemic, and highly conventional machine.

17) Walleyball (3m09s)
Directed by Kaveh Sistani, Fariba Farzanfar
Written by Kaveh Sistani
Iran, Islamic Republic of

An exploration of the realities of war on individual human lives as they are trying—despite the odds—to enjoy life.

18) Emmett (til de remix) (6m09s)
Directed by Masahiro Sugano
Written by Avery R. Young, Masahiro Sugano
Washington, United States
Studio Revolt Website

This powerful spoken word film, a collaboration between filmmaker Masahiro Sugano and poet Avery R. Young, pays homage to the Civil Rights Movement in honor of Emmett Till.

Midwest Video Poetry Fest Day ONE

Day One Program

4) Moss (1m13s) Directed by Jane Glennie Written by Natalie Whittaker United Kingdom A poem that began as a close description of moss leads to a new way to see--and to grapple with--depression.

5) I Was an Ocean Away (1m40s) Directed by Jeffrey Poherski Written by Marilyn Annucci Wisconsin, United States A young American student studying abroad reflects on what it means when no one else can say where you are.

6) Grindhouse (2m36s) Directed by Hailey Miller Written by Ruby Albright Colorado, United States Spoken word artist Ruby Albright presents her take on who we are.

7) First (1m42s) Directed by Nikolaus Jantsch Written by Sophie Reyer Austria Deceptively simple animation contrasts with words that traverse large swathes of time, weaving together old myths and the human longing for connection and meaning.

10) Papaya (2m01s) Directed by Satwik Mukherjee, Rajdeep Mark Hira Written by Satwik Mukherjee India Haunting music, creative transitions, and a charismatic lead (played by director Rajdeep Mark Hira) make this poetic video exploring identity and human nature a must-see.

12) This Is Just to Say (30s) Directed by Joseph Puglisi Written by Joseph Puglisi Colorado, United States Joseph Puglisi's Website A contemporary take on William Carlos Williams’s modern classic.

13) fine china. (3m25s) Directed by David A. Gaines, Ruby Johnston Written by David A. Gaines Pennsylvania, United States Dave G. Poetry Website A man reflects on his grandmother's fine china cabinet and familial patriarchal influences.

14) Directions on Living Near an Abandoned Tennis Court (2m20s) Directed by Andrew J. Knox Written by Andrew J. Knox Maryland, United States An experimental examination of the re-purposing of space as it deteriorates.

17) Walleyball (3m09s) Directed by Kaveh Sistani, Fariba Farzanfar Written by Kaveh Sistani Iran, Islamic Republic of An exploration of the realities of war on individual human lives as they are trying—despite the odds—to enjoy life.

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