OPEN CALL: 13th International Video Poetry Festival
Athens, Greece | Friday 9 & Saturday 10 May 2026
The 13th International Video Poetry Festival will take place in Athens on Friday 9 and Saturday 10 May 2026.
The festival attempts to create an open public space for the creative expression of all tendencies and streams of contemporary visual poetry. Since its founding in 2011, the IVPF has evolved into one of the oldest and most recognized international platforms for video poetry and spoken word.
Every year, the festival provides poets, filmmakers, video artists, and curators from around the globe a space for creative exchange, brainstorming, and connection with a broad, engaged audience.
With film screenings, poetry readings, multimedia performances, concerts, retrospectives, exhibitions, workshops, and lectures, the IVPF presents the full diversity of the genre of video poetry and spoken word.
Festival Structure: Two Zones of Experience
The International Video Poetry Festival unfolds in two distinct sections:
DAY ONE: Show Room Video Poetry
A dedicated cinema zone featuring:
- Video poems
- Visual poetry
- Short poetic films
- Cin(E)-Poetry
And all kinds of creative video poetry experimentation
This day brings together artists from all continents — America, Asia, Europe, Australia and Africa — for a rich showcase of cinematic poetic language.
DAY TWO: Live Performance Zone
This space includes:
- Multimedia poetry readings
- Spoken word lives
- Experimental music concerts
- Interactive workshops
A space for immediate interaction between audience and artist, exploring sound, movement, text, and image in real time.
Who Can Submit
Poets, filmmakers, video and digital artists, media and performance artists are invited to submit works to the 13th Annual International Video Poetry Festival in Athens, Greece.
The festival celebrates a wide range of video projects developed through the medium of poetry. In addition to the screenings, the IVPF will host:
- Panels and roundtable discussions
- Guest lectures
- Workshops
- Public dialogues
- A curated video art exhibition
What You Can Submit
There are no restrictions on when the project was produced, whether it has premiered, or its topic, theme, or language. We welcome works including (but not limited to):
- Poetry films / Film poems
- Digital-poetry / Videopoema / Cin(E)-Poetry
- Spoken word films
- Visual poetry / Media poetry
- Choreopoems / Poetrinca
- Non-narrative and experimental cinema
- Cinematic essays and film essays
- Avant-garde work exploring poetry/literature
- Grand-scale video art with poetic focus
We also encourage submissions and proposals of:
- Live performances
- Video mapping and installations
- Documentaries about poets, poetry, and literary movements
(These must include English or Greek subtitles.)
A Global Platform for Contemporary Poetic Expression
From poetry readings and spoken word to experimental film, artists explore existential and political themes such as:
- Identity in 21st Century
- Memory, history and change
- Social structures and authorities
- Urban existential experience
- Intercultural encounters
- Personal narratives
- Social Crises
The diversity of approaches highlights the richness of contemporary poetic expression, confirming IVPF’s role as a meeting point for different artistic practices and traditions from all around the world and especially from Global South.
Awards & Recognition
Every year, the committee of the Institute for Experimental Arts selects the BEST FILM of the year, and offers AUDIENCE AWARD voted by the audience on spot, as also SPECIAL HONOR for 10 most outstanding video poems presented at the festival.
The committee consists of members of the non-profit cultural society Institute for Experimental Arts.
Rules & Terms
- Deadline for submissions: 1 March 2026
- Maximum project duration: 20 minutes
- One project title per submission
- All languages are allowed, but English subtitles are required even if your film is in English language. The English subtitles offer to our international audience a better understadning of the poem in your film and for that reason are obligatory.
Additional notes:
- No feedback or revision will be offered on submitted works
- No changes are accepted after submission
- Once processed, submission fees are non-refundable
- All decisions by the selection committee are final
By submitting, participants agree to grant the festival:
- The right to use footage, stills, and project info for promotional purposes
- The right to issue publicity and use associated names, likenesses, and bios
How to Submit
Submission fee: 8€ per video or media project
Submit via FilmFreeway in this link:
FilmFreeway – International Video Poetry Festival
Have a performance, lecture, or unique idea you’d like to propose?
Send your pitch to: videopoetryfestival[@]gmail.com
General inquiries: theinstitutecontact[@]gmail.com
Organizers & Acknowledgements
The International Video Poetry Festival is organized by the Institute for Experimental Arts in collaboration with the Void Network, and FILM POETRY digital platform.
A special thank-you to Dave Bonta of Moving Poems, a global platform showcasing the best in video poetry. Since 2011, Moving Poems has been a source of inspiration and a vital partner in helping us spread the word and meeting creators from across the world.
