12TH INTERNATIONAL VIDEO POETRY FESTIVAL
VIDEO POETRY ZONE
FRIDAY 11 APRIL 2025
STARTS AT 18:00 – ENDS AT 23:00
MEMORIES ACROSS BORDERS (18:00-18:46, 46 min)
Films about memory, cultural identity, and personal histories that connect beyond geographical boundaries
I ROSE Director: Isabelle Pandora Byrne (1.50 min) | UK A short poetry film about recovery
« Réminiscence » Prayers to the Ocean (04:14 min) Director: Susann Carmen Jagodzińska | France
Prayer to the Ocean is a poem to accompany the experience of « Réminiscence » which refers to memories that are surfacing, out of a person’s control. Sudden memories that emerge and merge with the collective as a shared intime prayer. Where nature leads growth, femininity, and companionship towards healing.
(IN)VISIBLE (03:11 min) Director: Xinyi Wang, Bhumika Billa | United Kingdom/India
Grounded in poetry and choreography by Bhumika Billa, the film brings together dance, poetry, sound, and colour to evocatively interrogate the experiences of women lawyers in India. A critical commentary on the exclusionary gaze and rhythms in the physical spaces of law-making.
09.01.berkovich (06:01 min) Director: Anya Ryzhkova | Germany
The film is based on a speech by the Russian theater director Evgenia Berkovich. Together with the playwright Svetlana Petriychuk, Evgenia Berkovich has been under arrest and jailed since May 2023 on charges of “public calls to terrorism”.
A Story for Every Place (04:25 min) Director: Mustafa Allawi | Australia
The scent of frangipanis, BBQs and Lebanese spices intertwine in Sara Mansour’s recollections of childhood growing up in a migrant family in Australia.
Aghios Sideros (Saint Iron) (06:15 min) Director: Athina Georgia Koumela | Greece
In the rural village of Kallimasia, Chios, lies Aghios Sideros, a place where ghostly legends haunt a woman’s memories. Villagers deny the stories, but for her, the land is alive with the spirit of a young man who took his own life in a mastic field, where blood once flowed from the trees instead of resin. Mourning both him and the lost magic of life, she returns to the field, searching for answers in a place where the living meet the dead.
All those memories I can’t remember (04:35 min) Director: Nikolaj Schou | Denmark
A young woman struggles to remember a key memory of her grandmother.
An Elephant in the Porcelain Cabinet (04:50 min) Director: Bonne Steinz | Netherlands
‘An Elephant in the Porcelain Cabinet’ is a stop-motion and 2D animated short film about damage and how we deal with it, visualized through a fragile space that receives a clumsy visitor.
Arise (03:59 min) Director: Yahssir M | Singapore
Arise is a heartfelt poetry film inspired by Catherine Joan Devadason’s tender verses about solitude and connection. Set in bustling Little India in Singapore, the film follows two individuals living parallel lives—separated by walls yet bound by the shared ache of loneliness.
VOICES OF STRENGTH & SURVIVAL (18:46-19:46, 60 min)
Video poems showcasing human strength, inner power, and transformation through life’s challenges
Execution Squad (04:30 min) Director: Zima & Proxie | Greece
A poetic exploration of judgment, societal pressure, and the metaphorical firing squads we face in everyday life.
Bike (01:35 min) Director: Joseph Coëffic | Belgium
Mechanical caresses and electric gentleness, tender surface contact and eletrifying passion.
Boreaal 1 (04:41 min) Director: Hasan Pastaci | Belgium
A poem by Paul Demets, designed and animated by Hasan Pastaci. This is a poem about integration and losing the identity while trying to adapt to a new country, life, or whatever you can think of.
Dear Rorschach (03:00 min) Director: Bobe Wu | United States
Poe reflects on the Rorschach tests he took as a kid and their effects on his life.
Do you see us? (02:40 min) Director: Helene Matte | Canada
Portrait of a community of children in downtown Quebec.
Fated to Fall (05:16 min) Director: Abrielle Marsden | United States
A spoken-word poem illustrates the journey of a young girl with severe scoliosis dealing with the emotional aftermath of corrective spinal surgery.
To Hold (04:58 min) Director: Peter Whittenberger | United States
To Hold is a metaphorical self-portrait that follows a lone figure searching for normalcy, while navigating the aftermath of loss.
LANDSCAPES & CULTURAL DIALOGUES (19:46-20:08, 22 min)
Video poems exploring artistic interpretations of culture and diverse perspectives through creative expression
E.E. Cummings – I Carry Your Heart With Me (03:45 min) Director: Kapou Opa | Greece
A visual interpretation of E.E. Cummings’ beloved poem, exploring the transcendent nature of love that remains present across time and space.
Golden Shoes and a Blue Piano: Else Lasker-Schüler (10:19 min) Director: Lucia Schmidt | Germany
Animated shortfilm about the life and poetry of German Expressionist poet Else Lasker-Schüler (1869-1945) whose life was marked by war and the death of beloved ones, poverty and flight from rising fascism.
Heartbreak (03:18 min) Director: Jaliya The Bird, Anelissa Nkanyuza | Angola
An audiovisual offering of a spoken word piece that tells the story of an experience that breaks our sense of reality.
Kontakt (03:18 min) Director: Romina Küper, Konstantin Münzel, Leon Golz | Germany
A cinematic meditation on imperfection and beauty, filmed on 12mm.
AUDIENCE AWARD FILMS (20:08-21:13, 65 min)
In this special zone, two prestigious awards will be presented: The Festival Selection Award of 200 euros chosen by the team of the 12TH INTERNATIONAL VIDEO POETRY FESTIVAL, and the cherished Audience Choice Award with a special festival gift. Audience members are invited to cast their vote for their favourite film from the selection below. You can ask for the Audience Award leaflet at the entrance.
Drunk Daddy’s Girl (04:23 min) Director: Madara Gruntmane | Latvia What does it mean to witness violence, and how can poetic language become a tool for healing? The film challenges us to confront the harsh realities hidden within familial bonds.
How Much Filipino (04:25 min) Director: Greg Roensch | United States
Throughout his life, when discussing his family background with others, Greg Roensch has often been asked, “How much Filipino are you?” Inspired by that question, Greg set out to create this short poetry film that explores cultural heritage and the question of belonging.
What Was Said at the Reunion of Deathbed Wishes (03:27 min) Director: Mark Wilkinson | United States L.A. poet/spoken-word performer Rich Ferguson travels from the far reaches of Bombay Beach to the Hollywood streets to consider what was said at the reunion of deathbed wishes. A haunting reflection on mortality, memory, and unfulfilled desires.
You Are the Truck and I Am the Deer (05:07 min) Director: Max Ferguson | Belgium, Hong Kong
An experimental short film that explores emotional pain, expressing feelings of loss, helplessness and overwhelm during the process of accepting hurt. These emotional wounds are translated visually into a physical and pulsing presence that reveals a dark and unsettling image of femininity.
AWESOME (07:34 min) Director: Giovanni Scarpa | Italy
An immersive exploration of wonder and magnitude in unexpected places. The film takes viewers on a journey through extraordinary moments hidden within ordinary life.
Poetry Is Not (03:05 min) Director: Damian Mihaylov | Bulgaria
Performance of the actor Vasil Duev-Taig interpreting Boyko Lambovski’s poem on the question what is poetry and what it is not, set against the striking backdrop of the Black Sea coast.
Duties of My Heart (10:00 min) Director: Judy Lieff | United States
Deaf ASL poet Terrylene and dancers illuminate Barbara Barg’s poem of resilience, “a revolutionary act in poet Barg’s world.”
Twentieth century fresco (05:15 min) Director: Róbert Bordás | Hungary
The protagonist pulls a rusty shopping cart uphill, three children huddled inside. A visual poem that reimagines modern history as ancient art, blending past and present into a haunting fresco of human experience.
Beyond the Unseen Journey (01:54 min) Director: Faye Elena Goehner | Spain
A visually immersive poetry film that explores identity, resilience, and the unyielding pursuit of self-discovery. A brief but powerful glimpse into the realms that lie beyond ordinary perception.
CHIMENEA (02:51 min) Directors: Kamau Agyeman, N’jeri Agyeman | United States
A love poem about faith. This visual story explores N’jeri’s commitment to remaining soft after being let down, depicting her promise to remain faithful to her desires despite past disappointments. CHIMENEA is a visual exploration and manifestation of the love that N’jeri is calling into her life.
RESISTANCE & SOCIAL CONSCIOUSNESS (21:15-21:45, 30 min)
Film poetry using powerful imagery to challenge social norms and express political awareness
C’est la vie (04:00 min) Director: Ki Yuk Lam | China, Hong Kong
No dialogues. Life is a tapestry of joy and sorrow, yet we continue to move forward. In existence, we encounter victories and challenges. In chaos, we seek moments of peace and beauty. Life is a puzzle of experiences, and despite the ups and downs, we strive to find meaning and purpose. The film attempts to depict the city’s hardships and small blessings in a lighthearted manner.
Free Words: A Poet from Gaza (15:00 min) Director: Abdullah Harun ILHAN | Turkey
“Free Words” follows Mosab Abu Toha, a detained poet whose art becomes a powerful voice of resistance and hope amid oppression.
I AM ERICA (05:00 min) Director: Sana Sigola | United Kingdom Gun control, abortion, religious hypocrisy, toxic masculinity, indigenous genocide, and the rise of extremist ideologies in the U.S. This poem exposes the contradictions lying at the core of American culture.
Invisible Me (04:28 min) Director: Evrah Rose | WALES
A spoken word film depicting the cruel nature of chronic illness. How we’re so often forced to “mask up” to hide our pain, and the continuous struggle to fit into society.
Murphy Was An Optimist (03:15 min) Director: Heiko Reimer | Germany A poet finds himself caught in a downward spiral, wrestling with the profound themes of nihilism, hope, optimism, pessimism, and the ambivalent nature of reality.
My Friends Are Black Birds (04:47 min) Director: Sandra Rengifo | Colombia Shot shortly before the peak of the pandemic and during the Colombian general strikes and popular uprisings of 2019 and 2021, this film deals with the universal topics of love, fear of loss, illness and death.
Ya Sudan (02:25 min) Director: Talal Al Zubair | Sudan A poem born after the 15th of April, 2023, when a harrowing civil war broke out in Sudan, escalating a relentless cycle of violence, anguish, desperation, loss, displacement, famine, and rape.
GENDER PERSPECTIVES & FEMININE POETICS (21:45-22:15, 30 min)
Film poetry examining gender identity, women’s experiences, and diverse perspectives on gender
Les fleurs du mâle (03:49 min) Director: Hadi Moussally | Spain The mysterious creature, Salma, realizes that being herself has repercussions on her life and that she will never be accepted as she is. So she decides to ask the creatress of this world for mercy.
The HUNT (04:40 min) Director: Arda Gül | Turkey A poetry film that echoes the relentless hunt of women, a pursuit that has persisted for centuries—from Medieval Europe to present-day Iran and Afghanistan. The poems are by Çağla Meknuze, with music by Mert Kamiller, both artists also performing in the film.
Mum Does The Washing (04:41 min) Director: Iman Omar | United Kingdom
Mums explain the world one article of clothing at a time.
They Will Not Take Away the Beauty of the Night (04:51 min) Director: Han Newton | United Kingdom Walking is a warcry and an act of defiance. It’s about reclaiming space at a time marked by danger and the pursuit of freedom in the face of fear.
Purple Cat (04:46 min) Director: Josua Graf | Germany
A poet finds himself within the four walls he has built for himself. A typewriter, candlelight, a couch – one might think it’s the perfect retreat. But he is not alone.
LIFE, LOSS & TRANSFORMATION (22:15-22:30, 15 min)
Intimate portrayals of grief, change, human connections, and personal transformation
Rain Roses (08:41 min) Director: Youssuf AlKassry | Egypt, Germany
In Berlin, far from the home he lost, Ihab, a young Syrian refugee, struggles with the weight of trauma and displacement. With his family and past life torn away, he clings to poetry as his only refuge—trying to piece together his identity in a city that feels both foreign and full of possibilities. Can he flee the destruction within?
Refugee (03:41 min) Director: SUKI | France
In his thoughts, a man who has taken refuge in a wasteland of ice walks straight ahead accompanied by a polar bear…
Reincarnation (03:05 min) Director: Maya Workowski | United States
In her next life, a woman vows to embrace silence, surrender anxiety, and honor the past lives that shaped her.
The Mountain and The Flower (02:25 min) Director: Kamyar Mohsenin, Mohamed Abdullahi | United States
Centered around the subjective perception of time passing, The Mountain (Yeandya Teklu) and The Flower (Shacur Ali), experience the discovery of the present moment through a nonverbal conversation.
xefoto (01:14 min) Director: Katerina Anastasiou | Greece
The chronicle of loss, in the smoke of a funeral, somewhere deep in the forest.
Why didn’t you tell me? (05:40 min) Director: Ishvar Krishnan | India
I tried to reach him without knowing he has already left. Now that he is gone, what is left? His remains and the remaining me without him. Shouldn’t he have told me before he left?
AWARD ANNOUNCEMENT (22:30)
Announcement of festival awards and recognition of outstanding contributions
Please note that this timeline is approximate due to the element of chaos and unforeseen circumstances that naturally occur during live festival events. While we strive to maintain the published schedule, artistic presentations, audience interactions, and technical considerations may cause slight variations in the running times. We appreciate your understanding and flexibility as we navigate the beautiful unpredictability that makes each festival experience unique.
