Strychnine Valentine | A Short Film

JAMIE DEWOLF first exploded into national prominence in the competitive lyrical battles of poetry slams, winning his first title on the Oakland Slam team in 1999. DeWolf went on to become the Oakland and Berkeley Grand Slam Champion, and is also an Individual finalist for the International World Championship. He’s been awarded “Performer of the Year” by NPR’s Snap Judgment and was a featured performer on HBO’s Def Poetry Jam, 60 Minutes, UPN, BBC, Vice, NBC and CBS. DeWolf premiered multiple stories on Snap Judgment Live, and The Girl in the Hallway (about the disappearance of his neighbor Xiana Fairchild) and Exit Interview (a story of surviving suicide), were both showcased by UpWorthy the year of their premieres. Voted “Best Poet” of the Bay Area by the East Bay Express two years in a row, Jamie is also a mentor for Youth Speaks, the nation’s leading presenter of Spoken Word education. He coached their slam team of young poets to the Brave New Voices Finals on HBO. He’s performed and lead writing workshops at over 130 universities, high schools and juvenile detention centers across the U.S, and hosted the first-ever slam poetry competition for inmates at San Quentin Penitentiary.

DeWolf has directed over 90 short films, commercials, documentaries and music videos that have played at festivals across the world. His films have more than 5 million international shared views. His background as a performance artist and educator inform his vivid exploration of a wide range of genres and voices, and cinematic approach of bringing the lens to underserved communities. DeWolf’s original short films, known for their provocative and boundary pushing subject matter, have won multiple awards from “Best Acting Performance” (A Girl and a Gun Briefs 2013), “Most Terrifying Storyline” (U Turn Scream 2013), “Best Cinematography” (Ricochet in Reverse Scream 2014), and “Best Writing” (Rio Grind 2014). His short films Hey Baby Hey and OK Monster! both won the Grand Prize Audience Award the year of their premiere.