“On a Prophet” — a collaboration with poet Kathleen Roberts from Duluth, Minnesota — was curated into the Visible Verse Festival 2014. The poetry film festival will be held again at The Cinematheque in Vancouver, Canada, on October 18, 2014. Here’s the final program of films to be screened.
***
Visible Verse 2014 Festival
OCTOBER 18
Curated & Hosted by Heather Haley
Visible Verse is The Cinematheque’s annual festival of video poetry, the hybrid creative form that marries verse with media-art visuals produced by a camera or a computer. Local poet, author, musician, and media artist Heather Haley has curated and hosted this celebration since it was first presented at The Cinematheque in 2000 (when the event was known as the Vancouver Videopoem Festival). The 2014 festival will be selected from more than 400 submissions received from local, national, and international artists.
The popularity of video poetry has continued to grow. Video poetry and poetry film festivals and sites are popping up all over the world. The Cinematheque’s Visible Verse Festival helped pioneer the form and, we are proud to say, is still North America’s sustaining venue for artistically significant video poetry. For her work in championing the genre, Ms. Haley was honoured with a 2012 Pandora’s Literary Award.
PART 1
On a Prophet | David Richardson/Kathleen Roberts Spencer, USA 2014. 1:57 min.
Indefinite Animals | Martha McCollough. 5:52 min.
IN | Sarah Tremlett, UK. 2:08 min.
Aylool MacKenzie’s Convenient Skytrain Deppaneur | Wiebe/Lyle Neff. 2:25 min.
Genocide Is My Man United | Kevin Barrington, UK 2014. 1:14 min.
Out of the Forest-Sleight of Tree | J.P. Sipilä. 2:56 min.
words/birds | vvitalny, 2012. 1:36 min.
PROEM | Suzie Hanna/Hart Crane. 3:18 min.
Again and Again | Igor Andreevski, Netherlands 2014. 2:37 min.
Proxy Bounce | Ian Keteku, Canada. 4:03 min.
1962 | Diana Taylor. 3:27 min.
The Killing | Swoon/Howie Good, Belgium. 4:59 min.
Je tombe | Svitlana Reinish, Elena Semak, Ukraine. 2:58 min.
Penelopiad | Jade Anouka, UK. 2:39 min.
In Hell | Michael Murnau. 1:29 min.
Ella (Her) | Javier Reta, Spain 2013. 3:33 min.
If I Can Sing a Song about Ligatures | Abigail Child, 2009. 5:21 min.
What The Flute Wants to Sing | Karin Hazé/Moe Clark, 2013. 3:14 min.
Reservation | Kevin Barrington. 0:42 min.
Equas Caballus | H. Paul Moon. 3:07 min.
The Elephant is Contagious | Simon O’Neill. 3:34 min.
PART 2
Back to You | Karen Mary Berr, France 2013. 2:57 min.
Keepsake | Elizabeth Johnston, 2013. 2:17 min.
Embroidered | Andy Bonjour. 0:56 min.
Babel Death Star | Kirk Ramdath, Canada. 4:25 min.
Kenneth Patchen | J.R. Phillips, USA. 3:12 min.
Walls | Walter Forsyth, 2013. 4:37 min.
Florid Psychosis | Othniel Smith/Bill Yarro. 1:01 min.
My Dolls | Pete Burkeet/Melissa Barrett. 2:47 min.
America | Sophie LeNeveau/Allen Ginsberg, 2006. 3:50 min.
My Country | Jelena Sinkik/Ralph Stevenson. 2:26 min.
Late | Keith Sargeant, UK. 6:02 min.
Prism | Jamey Hastings. 1:18 min.
Tasting the End | Dean Pasch . 2:05 min.
Deathless Man | Lena Samoylenko, Ukraine. 5:14 min.
Some Trees | Kurtis Hough. 2:00 min.
Marianne | Richard O’ Connor. 2:55 min.
***
Visible Verse is recognized as “North America’s sustaining venue for the presentation of new and artistically significant poetry video and film,” and more than 400 video-poem were submitted for consideration this year. Visible Verse is curated and hosted by Vancouver poet, author, musician, and media artist Heather Haley, who established the festival back in 1999.
“On a Prophet” first debuted as part of the collaborative show “With Sirens Blaring” at the Prøve Gallery in Duluth, Minnesota, August 8, 2014. “On a Prophet” was also juried into the film-poem festival Liberated Words III, held in Bristol, UK, September 13. 2014, and won First Prize for Best Editing.
I feel honored to be part of these festivals and screenings this year, and I am thankful to Kathleen Roberts for her invitation to video artists to collaborate and for her wonderful, dark, haunting poem and reading. The project was a pleasure to work on.
Special thanks to my wife, Paula, for agreeing to act in the film. She was very patient and did a most excellent job.
