Judging a Haibun Festival

I first understood Haiku through the character of Ricky in the wonderful film Hunt for the Wilderpeople (a film written and directed by Taika Waikiki), and began to enjoy more of them through Dave Bonta. Haibun combines prose with a haiku. 

Dave Bonta and MovingPoems.com have been involved with a competition for Haibun, and along with Dave and James Brush, I was invited to be involved in judging the filmmaking stage of the competition. As Dave explained, in his presentation to Haiku North America 2023 in Cincinnatti, where the Haibun films were screened:
"Videopoetry (AKA cinepoetry or filmpoetry) is a hybrid of film and poetry that can work especially well with haibun. Like haibun, it hijacks a narrative medium for lyrical ends in a creative subversion of a typical audience’s expectations."

It was the first time I've been on the other side of the festival fence as a judge. While the three of us had some different views on what we thought were the strengths of the films submitted, we had a unanimous decision on the winner - Table for One by Matt Mullins.

For a full report on the competition, or to see other films shown at the event - please head over to Moving Poems.