Covid-19 restrictions caused some filmmakers to be unable to complete their films for the April 2020 edition of Visible Poetry Project. Founder of the Project Michelle Cheripka invited to make a 'Behind the scenes' film from my previous work for VPP. I decided to look back to my first film with Brittani Sonnenberg - Coyote Wedding. 

It was lovely to look back over Brittani's images and poetry - and as well as explaining something of the process of making Coyote Wedding, I decided I would also make a rough and ready 'lockdown' film of Night Walk MTV. This was the first piece of Brittani's that I read, and it made me fall in love with her work. In 2018 it was hard to choose which poem to work with so it has been a delight to revisit Night Walk MTV.

And here is the original film.

Very pleased to say that my film 'Moss' (poet Natalie Whittaker) has been selected to be screened as part of the 'Breaking the Line' programme on Friday 17th April. The festival is online from Wednesday to Sunday with a different programme screening each day, available for 24 hours.

Visiting The Word in South Shields to see the installation of the Poetry + Video programme. 

It all looked very professional and beautiful, the exhibition is in their ground floor exhibition 'pod'.
The outside wall has an introduction to the programme, while inside vinyl lettering lists all the titles, filmmakers and writers.
People drop-in to the space to take in the films. I chatted to the events manager - she says that typical visitors will stop and watch 2 or 3 films at a time. 
All in all an excellent model for an alternative to a screening event for showing poetry film. I think this is a lovely way to dip in and out of poetry film, or perhaps discover it for the first time.

Happening this weekend - ​https://www.publicpoetry.net/reelpoetry/
From the website: REELpoetry/Houston TX  international poetry film festival, JAN. 24-26, 2020. Screening cinepoetry, mini-documentaries, videopoems, from local, national and international poets and filmmakers, panels, workshops & more. Featured guests include Dave Bonta, founder of Moving Poems, filmmaker Mary McDonald (Canada) presenting “In Augmented Reality,” and poetry filmmaker, Sarah Tremlett (England), curator of “Uprooted.” ​

​The programme page is here

Very pleased to say 'letter - to anyone who is listening' is being screened as a Judges selection.

The above image is from one of my favourite pieces in the programme - Our Bodies (A Sinner's Prayer) by Matt Mullins - you can read more about it here

A great experience at the 8th International VideoPoetry Festival in Athens... many films, live performances, music, and a workshop session. 
Full review of the event here

Fab to be meeting up with Lucy English, Chaucer Cameron and Helen Dewbery, then connecting with people in person for the first time - Marie Craven, Ian Gibbins and Ana Pantic. Many thanks to Sissy Doutsiou and her team for a very varied and exciting event.

I performed some new and old writing live - I wrote about the experience on my a-n blog

Experimenting with silent film for the first time ... I have created a piece for the Window Project, in Silver Street, Cambridge - 'Relationship Scaffolded'.

21 artists will be showing work in a continuous loop.

So pleased that I have been awarded a mentoring bursary by a-n (The Artist's Information Company). I am working on developing my practice and building up a new body of work over the next year with the support of my mentor Rosalind Davis

​As part of the deal - I will be posting a blog on the a-n website - further details to follow when this is set up. Watch this space...

'Moss' has been kindly selected by Lucy English to be part of the 'Focus UK: State of the Art' programme during the Zebra Poetry Film Festival in Berlin on Saturday 7th Dec.
Wishing all who will be there in Berlin an amazing time!
https://www.haus-fuer-poesie.org/…/all_e…/focus-uk-state-art

'Moss' - written by Natalie Whittaker - published in Shadow Dogs by Natalie Whittaker (2019)