Verse meets visuals in motion during a series of cinepoem screenings, ekphrastic responses, and generative workshops celebrating National Poetry Month.

Northwest Film Forum is soliciting video poetry for inclusion in Cadence Video Poetry Festival, with selected submissions screening in April 2020.

Video poetry is language as light. As an art form, video poetry is lucid and liminal—on the threshold of the literary and the moving image. It articulates the poetic image visually, rather than metaphorically—it shifts words from page to screen, from ink to light. A video poem makes meaning that would not exist if text was without image, image without text. It is language-based video work or a video-based poem. Video poetry is a literary genre presented as visual media.

We are looking for works no longer than 5 minutes long that fit within the following categories of video poetry. Works that exceed 5 minutes may be submitted in the Wild Card category.

• Adaptations/Ekphrasis: Videos created to bring new meaning and dimension to pre-existing poetry. Any poems used for this purpose must be in the public domain or else used with written consent of the author.

• Collaboration: Video poems created in collaboration between a video artist and writer.

• Video by Poets: Poets creating video from, or as, their writing.

• Poetry by Video Artists: Video artists using text visually or through audio intrinsic to the poetic meaning.

• Wild Card: Video work that’s poetically informed or poetry that’s visually informed that doesn’t neatly fit into one of the other categories and/or exceeds 5 minutes.

*Northwest Film Forum incites public dialogue and creative action through collective cinematic experiences. Cadence Video Poetry Festival is presented by NWFF and programmed in collaboration with Chelsea Werner-Jatzke and Rana San.*

**Still image courtesy of Peter Berkley from "light cycle"**

Awards & Prizes

Video poems will be eligible for an award within their submission category:

• Adaptations/Ekphrasis — Judged by Amber Flame
Amber Flame is a writer, composer and performer, whose work has garnered artistic merit residencies with Hedgebrook, The Watering Hole, Vermont Studio Center, and Yefe Nof. Flame’s original work has been published in diverse arenas, including Winter Tangerine, The Dialogist, Split This Rock, Black Heart Magazine, Sundress Publications, FreezeRay, Redivider Journal and more. A 2016 Pushcart Prize nominee, Jack Straw Writer and recipient of the CityArtist grant from Seattle's Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs, Amber Flame's first full-length poetry collection, Ordinary Cruelty, was recently published through Write Bloody Press. Flame joins the Hugo House in Seattle as the 2017 poetry Writer-in-Residence, and is a queer Black single mama just one magic trick away from growing her unicorn horn.

• Collaboration — Judged by Angela Kassube
Angella Kassube is an avid poetry reader and freelance Art Director/Designer/Animator from Minneapolis, Minnesota. She has worked in the film and video industry for more than 20 years. In 2008, Angella co-founded Motionpoems, a non-profit poetry film production organization, and was the executive producer for more than 30 poetry films during Motionpoems’ first 5 seasons. Angella has designed and animated poetry films for Thomas Lux, Dean Young, and Robert Bly. Her films have screened in film festivals in Berlin, New York City, Minneapolis, and Rome.

• Video by Poets — Judged by Jordan Stempleman
Jordan Stempleman is the author of nine collections of poetry including Wallop, No, Not Today, and COVER SONGS COVER SONGS COVER SONGS OFF DAYS (forthcoming, Magic Helicopter Press). He co-edits The Continental Review, serves as the faculty editor for Sprung Formal, and curates A Common Sense Reading Series.

• Poetry by Video Artists — Judged by Gretchen Burger
Gretchen Burger is an artist, educator, filmmaker and, long ago, she was a poet. The co-founder of the creative agency FEARLESS, Gretchen has turned her creative pursuits to embodied immersive storytelling and creating public art projects, exhibitions and curriculum to facilitate understanding of the invisible digital ether pulsing around us. Gretchen has an MFA in experimental film and video installation from Massachusetts College of Art and Design and has taught at The Art Institute, Seattle University, Cornish College of Arts and The Northwest Film Forum.

• Wild Card — Judged by Chelsea Werner-Jatzke + Rana San (Cadence Co-Directors)

Rules & Terms

Submission deadline: March 1

1. We welcome submissions in all languages. As the judging will be by English speakers, films in other languages must contain English subtitles.

2. Any film duration exceeding 5 minutes including credits should be submitted in the Wild Card category.

3. All submissions will receive notification no later than April 1, 2020.

4. If selected for screening at the festival, the filmmaker will be required to submit the following:

• Brief film synopsis
• Credits of all involved
• 1-2 high-resolution film stills
• 1920x1080 h.264 film exhibition copy

5. By submitting a film to Cadence Video Poetry Festival, you certify that:

• You are the owner of the film you have submitted or you have full authority to submit the film to the festival.

• This film is not subject to any litigation nor is threatened by any litigation.

• This film is your original work and you agree to indemnify, defend and hold harmless Northwest Film Forum and its employees, volunteers and board of directors individually and collectively, from and against all claims, complaints, causes of action, liabilities, judgments, losses, costs and expenses including reasonable attorneys fees arising out of or in connection with any and all claims and/or third party claims based on materials you are submitting to the festival.