~ Author-made videopoems ~
Avant que je devienne une île / Before I became an island by Emma Vakarelova
Moving Poems returns from its extended summer holiday with this beautiful animated short by the Bulgarian-born artist Emma Vakarelova, who is currently based in Valence, France. There are no English subtitles, but a translation of the brief text is provided in the description on Vimeo:
Before I became an island, I was called Kalina… Before Marcos saw me, he was a postman…
Vakarelova adds that this is her first film. Here’s hoping for many more.
Why by Richard Siken
Long poems don’t always translate well into the film medium, but American poet Richard Siken seems to have hit upon a winning formula in his very first go at filmmaking, collaborating with the French-born singer Marianne Dissard, three of whose songs are heard in succession while the text of the poem appears on the screen. The description on Vimeo quotes her reaction:
I am deeply honored that Richard would use my music to accompany his stunning poem “Why”. Richard is by far my favorite American poet. This is his first film and, as a filmmaker myself, I am awed not only by this short work’s striking imagery but also by its rare ability to get to the essence of these three songs. As a lyricist, to no other writer than Richard would I trust my work to take a back seat but in doing so, I get gently but confidently pointed to its essence. I am beyond grateful to Richard for that rare poetic gift.
It’s always encouraging to see poets of Sikens’ stature taking up videopoetry, especially when the results are this ambitious.
Point by Csilla Toldy
Hungarian-British filmmaker Csilla Toldy wrote, directed and produced this “poem about the end of the world as we know it and a new beginning,” as she describes it on YouTube.
Experimental short poem in motion. Made in Northern Ireland, in 2008 with support from Northern Ireland Screen
Cast: John Livingstone, Donna Ansley, Ivan Ryan
Camera: Alistair Livingstone
Music: Kampec Dolores
Editor: Tom McFarland
Jonah and the Shark by Annie Ferguson
http://vimeo.com/64472403
Another in the collaborative series of videopoems by two Evergreen College students, this one by written and directed by Annie Ferguson. All five films by Ferguson and Catherine Michaelis have also been rolled into a single video. Watch it at The Fluid Raven.
Come The Apocalypse by Catherine Alice Michaelis
A great environmental/social justice videopoem by Evergreen College student Catherine Alice Michaelis, part of a collaborative series with Annie Ferguson that grew out of “a 10 week immersive experiment with cinépoetry,” according to The Fluid Raven. Deserving of special mention here, I think, is the eerie and effective whistling by Bill Moody on the soundtrack.
Learning the Letters by Robert Peake
“A film-poem by Valerie Kampmeier and Robert Peake, incorporating footage of children in Britton, South Dakota filmed by Ivan Bessie in 1939.” For the text, see Peake’s blog.
Righteous Utopian by Michael Spering
An author-made, stop-motion videopoem.
The Barking Horse by Patrick Sheridan
An eccentric and highly enjoyable author-made poetry video by Patrick Sheridan of Paddy Wagon Films.
If I had a white horse, I’d call him Brown Cow, just so I could ask, “How now horse Brown Cow?”
The Barking Horse is a three minute film about a dog named Horse. People have called it inspiring, awesome, confusing, brilliant, moving, and beautiful. You decide.
Paleoacoustics by Forrest Gander
http://vimeo.com/57158868
Forrest Gander‘s description at Vimeo reads: “This video is about Paleoacoustics, traces of the past in the present, poetry, imagination.”
Smalltalk & Little Else by R.W. Perkins
http://vimeo.com/65023600
“Can we be gratified enough to be less gratified?” asks R.W. Perkins in this outgoing yet introspective new videopoem, made for The Body Electric Poetry Film Festival, which he organized this spring in Fort Collins, Colorado. I imagine it must’ve done a very good job in setting the tone for the festival.
Over drinks, at the end of a very long day, have you ever felt completely alone talking with a group of friends? Smalltalk & little Else explores the inner workings of the mind, while attempting to put on your best face for friends and family.
Shot in Fort Collins own Cafe Vino, a new but notable old town staple, with their stand alone atmosphere, cocktails and tapas. Camera work provided by Andy Carrasco of Studio Carrasco Films.
Un hombre que dijo ser el mar (A man who claimed to be the sea) by Tonatihu Mercado
http://youtu.be/smGhiZXSuQQ
A very ambitious stop-motion videopoem from Mexico. Tonatihu Mercado directed and wrote the poem, Mariana G. Reyes was the director of photography, and Osiris A. Puerto is credited simply with “Arte” (making the claymation figures, I guess) along with eight assistant artists and six assistant animators. Eros “Lobo” Ortega composed the original score, and the slightly dodgy English translation is attributed to Jesús Francisco García Reyes. Here’s the description at YouTube:
UN HOMBRE QUE DIJO SER EL MAR: El trascurrir interno de “Un hombre” que naufraga en una isla. Se nombra “mar” y en el plenilunio tiene un encuentro efímero con la luna; después cada quien sigue su camino, es el amor.
* * *
A MAN WHO CLAIMED TO BE THE SEA: Internal flowing of a man who shipwrecked in an island. He is claimed to be the Sea and in the full moon has an ephemeral encounter with the moon itself; Then each one follow their ways, is the love.
the one about the bird by Melissa Diem
A striking videopoem by Irish poet, writer and visual artist Melissa Diem. Here’s the description from Vimeo:
Screened at the BELFAST FILM FESTIVAL 2013
One of the finalist at LA PAROLA IMMAGINATA – TREVIGLIOPOESIA 2013 in ITALYA poetry film based on the poem, the one about the bird, written by Melissa Diem and filmed in Ireland. It explores the human attraction to horrific events through the medium of film. And the idea of the desire to stop and begin again when a situation, an experience, humanity… seems to have gone so horrendously wrong that it is beyond the point of return and can never be undone.
The poem and the visuals were influenced by a black and white film (source unknown) in which children stone a wounded bird to death. I saw this clip of film at a young age and the scenes and all they implied were so startling to me that I have never forgotten the images. Other cinematic influences include the film ‘Don’t Look Now’ in which images suddenly surface in a fleeting glimpse like repressed memories shifting through consciousness.
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