2024 MVPF
Thank you to everyone who came out this year! These programs will be available on ALL's YouTube channel for National Poetry Month in April 2025.
MVPF 2024 Day 1 (full program)
Highlights available online now:
Golden in the Morning Crane Our Necks
MVPF 2024 Day 2 (full program)
Highlights from Day 2 available online now:
Sponsor opportunities available now.
Save the Date!
The 2024 Midwest Video Poetry Fest will take place at 7 PM over two consecutive Saturdays—October 5 and October 12. Each evening will feature live video and performance collaborations followed by screenings of short poetry films from around the world.
About MVPF
The Midwest Video Poetry Fest was launched by ALL in 2020 as an expansion of the collaborative and experimental work we seek to support in Wisconsin and beyond. The video poetry festival, which invites new audiences to discover (or rediscover) poetry, is the first of its kind in Wisconsin. In the first four years, it has attracted over 2000 submissions from over 91 countries.
History
2023 MVPF
There were two evenings of live Poet + Filmmaker performance followed by film screenings on October 14th and October 15th at ALL in Madison, WI and at Woodland Pattern in Milwaukee, WI. Each evening's screening was unique and included a selection of works from the open call alongside works by artists especially invited by the Curatorial Team.
Media Coverage
"Midwest Video Poetry Fest reveals sweepingly collaborative, cross-disciplinary depths" at TONE Madison
"4th Annual Midwest Video Poetry Festival Preview" at WORT FM
2022 Program
The 2022 festival was presented October 21 and October 22 in person at ALL and featured two exciting new additions—a family matinee with special short films made by and/or for kids and a live poetry reading and film collaboration.
The two screenings were available on our YouTube channel during the month of November.
Learn more here:
- Video Poetry Fest Brings Poetry To Your Eyes! 2022 WORT-FM coverage
- 2022 Tone Madison article: The third annual Midwest Video Poetry Festival greets upheaval with contemplation
- 2021 Isthmus article
- 2020 Isthmus article
Video poetry gives creators an opportunity to use one of our newest art forms—film—to transform one of our oldest art forms—poetry. It includes narrative, animation, experimental, spoken word performances, and more. For a detailed explanation of what video poetry is and what it can be, see The Poetics of Poetry Film by Sarah Tremlett; you can read an interview with Sarah Tremlett here and see her video poem "Selfie with Marilyn."
You can support Midwest Video Poetry Fest by donating here or find out more about sponsorship opportunities for this festival by contacting genia@artlitlab.org.
2021 Programs
In 2021, we presented the festival in-person at ALL in Madison and at Woodland Pattern in Milwaukee. MVPF 2021 featured works from across the United States (including several from the Midwest), and from the United Kingdom, Canada, Mexico, China, Spain, Italy, Germany, Ireland, Belgium, Denmark, and New Zealand. Midwest Video Poetry Fest (MVPF) is the first of its kind in Wisconsin and presents the work of local, national, and international poets and filmmakers.
MVPF 2021 Day 1
MVPF 2021 Day 2
2020 Programs
In our first year, nearly 50% of the selected videos were by BIPOC artists, and 14% featured LGBTQ+ work. We received over 1,600 submissions from 91 countries around the world, which was an incredible response, particularly for a first-time festival. Jurors selected 36 video poems, which were screened over two nights with live Q&As on Facebook and YouTube. The average production cost was over $800 per film.
MVPF 2020 Day 1
MVPF 2020 Day 2
Links to individual video poems:
"Glitter Gutter" featured on the ALL Review
"Hide Your Name" featured on the ALL Review
"A Piano" featured on the ALL Review
Thank you to our volunteers and supporters who have made the Midwest Video Poetry Fest possible.
