Midwest Video Poetry Fest Day 2

Join us for the 4th annual Midwest Video Poetry Fest on Saturday, October 14, 2023 and Sunday, October 15, 2023 at 7 PM for live reading and video collaborations followed by a screening of the best new poetry videos from around the world. These films include original poems, experimental works, animation, translations, and more. Filmmakers, poets, and festival organizers will be on hand for a short Q&A after the screening.

This event will be held live at ALL in Madison. Seating is limited; admission is $5.

Live Video Poetry Performance by Chele Isaac and Quan Barry, co-produced by Jack Kellogg

Videos will also be screened at Woodland Pattern in Milwaukee.

1) The Voice in Isabel Fleiss's Office (6m24s)
Directed by Jim Haverkamp
Written by Virgil Renfroe
United States
Director's Website

A woman with an unusual malady--cobweb buildup in the throat--receives an even more unusual treatment in this adaptation of a surreal poem by North Carolina writer Virgil Renfroe.

2) Ci Kanam (3m35)
Directed by Natou Fall
Written by Natou Fall
United States

A mini-doc about an artist's journey. There are three different meanings for the word kanam in Wolof: face, front, future. Read in this order they take on the form of a command: Look forward, pay attention, become.

3) Once Removed (1m41s)
Directed by Devon Stackonis
Written by Devon Stackonis
United States

A letterpress animation paired with a poem that together pose extraction and mutilation of the landscape in relationship to the body. The sequences are based on extraction methods—mining, violent and toxic removal of resources—alongside abstracted bodily forms and more personal symbolic elements. This animation is comprised of 550 individual frames printed on a Vandercook press.

4) Hiding Place (2m9s)
Directed by Sami Miranda, Ellie Walton
Written by Sami Miranda
United States

Hiding Place is a video poem that speaks to the need to find the spaces where you can become comfortable enough with yourself to come out of your shell and how necessary it is to find your voice.

5) we pilot the blood (6m18s)
Directed by Quenton Baker
Written by
United States

Quenton Baker’s “we pilot the blood” considers the position of blackness and the ongoing afterlife of slavery in this cinematic adaptation of their poem by the same title, crafted from redacted U.S. Senate documents detailing the 1841 revolt of enslaved people aboard the brig Creole.

6) Oh Hong Kong My Love (24s)
Directed by Christie Widiarto
Written by Ken Chau
Australia

Using Chinese characters and symbolic depictions of neon signs, "Oh Hong Kong My Love" is an expression of love and longing for the city of Hong Kong.

7) deer (3m13s)
Directed by Davida Singer, Anney Bonney
Written by Davida Singer, Anney Bonney
United States

Using collage animation (hand-drawings, photos and live action), “deer” invokes the deer’s heightened sensitivity, grace and unwavering determination to help us navigate these uncertain times.

8) S.he (3m40s)
Directed by Joanna Maxellon
Written by Claudia Spanhel
Germany
Director's Website

The film S.he seeks ways to capture our Anthropocene era. It leads to the thin line between reality and abstraction and poses the recurring question of our possible future. But who is "S.he"? Our planet, we or one of us? "S.he" is based on a poem by Claudia Spanhel and deals with memories of a future that has not yet happened, a story of dystopian future plans and lost utopias.

9) When it feels hot, that rage against me (1m50s)
Directed by Helmie Stil
Written by Rebecca Goss
United Kingdom
Poetry Cinema UK

Inspired by Rebecca Goss' poem of the same name—and winner of the '22 Sylvia Plath Prize—"When it feels hot, that rage against me" is an artistic rendering of the transition from being a girl to a woman from the perspective of a mother who wants to protect her daughter and, at the same time, let her go.

10) Lentil (7m55s)
Directed by Kim Trainor
Written by Kim Trainor
Canada
Seeds

An experimental poetry film on the sixth mass extinction and the importance of eating lentils.

11) Permacrisis (2m15s)
Directed by Daniel H Dugas
Written by Daniel H Dugas
Canada

You know there something wrong when birds are smouldering.

12) Singularity (2m24s)
Directed by Matthew Thompson
Written by Marie Howe
United States
The Adrian Brinkerhoff Poetry Foundation

American poet Marie Howe performs her poem "Singularity" against the backdrop of New York's Storm King Art Center.

13) Natural Disasters (4m20s)
Directed by Tiffany Jiang
Written by Tiffany Jiang
United States

"Natural Disasters" by award-winning Chinese-American filmmaker Tiffany Jiang reflects on personal histories and trauma through the lens of so-called natural disasters. The film has been screened in Paris, New York, and Milwaukee.

14) We Are the Dinosaur (2m49s)
Directed by H. Paul Moon
Written by Bob Holman
United States
Director's Website

In-person Only. A street-rant lament for the state of climate crisis delivered to an unsuspecting public, including a Courthouse, an Anonymous Businessman, and Times Square itself.

15) Crane Waltz (2m27s)
Directed by Kelly Smith-Campbell
Written by Michelle Seaman
United States
Author's Website

Interdisciplinary Artists, Kelly Smith-Campbell, Michelle Seaman, and Benjamin Dauer collaborate as Half Wild blending spoken and sung poetry with electro-acoustic music. For Crane Waltz, they explore what it means to move, migrate, connect, and keep a steady pace in an ever-changing world.

16) Flying Carpet (6m24s)
Directed by Leila Honari
Written by Leila Honari
Australia
Director's Website

Inspired by philosopher Attar’s Conference of Birds (1177) and using the structure of a phenakistoscope Farsh-e-Parandeh (Flying Carpet) shows the effort of a group of migratory seabirds trapped in the frames of the looped universe of an animated Persian carpet. The work provides a window into an alternate history of animation when the circle rather than the rectangular screen was foremost.

Midwest Video Poetry Fest Day 2

2) Ci Kanam (3m35) Directed by Natou Fall Written by Natou Fall United States A mini-doc about an artist's journey. There are three different meanings for the word kanam in Wolof: face, front, future. Read in this order they take on the form of a command: Look forward, pay attention, become.

4) Hiding Place (2m9s) Directed by Sami Miranda, Ellie Walton Written by Sami Miranda United States Hiding Place is a video poem that speaks to the need to find the spaces where you can become comfortable enough with yourself to come out of your shell and how necessary it is to find your voice.

6) Oh Hong Kong My Love (24s) Directed by Christie Widiarto Written by Ken Chau Australia Using Chinese characters and symbolic depictions of neon signs, "Oh Hong Kong My Love" is an expression of love and longing for the city of Hong Kong.

10) Lentil (7m55s) Directed by Kim Trainor Written by Kim Trainor Canada Seeds An experimental poetry film on the sixth mass extinction and the importance of eating lentils.

11) Permacrisis (2m15s) Directed by Daniel H Dugas Written by Daniel H Dugas Canada You know there something wrong when birds are smouldering.

12) Singularity (2m24s) Directed by Matthew Thompson Written by Marie Howe United States The Adrian Brinkerhoff Poetry Foundation American poet Marie Howe performs her poem "Singularity" against the backdrop of New York's Storm King Art Center.

14) We Are the Dinosaur (2m49s) Directed by H. Paul Moon Written by Bob Holman United States Director's Website *In-person Only.* A street-rant lament for the state of climate crisis delivered to an unsuspecting public, including a Courthouse, an Anonymous Businessman, and Times Square itself.

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