Welcome to Cadence Video Poetry Festival!

LOOKING FOR CADENCE 2024?

Cadence Video Poetry Festival, presented by Northwest Film Forum, programmed in collaboration with Seattle author Chelsea Werner-Jatzke and artist Rana San, is a series of screenings, workshops, and discussions on the genre of video poetry, during National Poetry Month.

Cadence approaches video poetry as a literary genre presented as visual media that makes new meaning from the combination of text and moving image. Featuring screenings, an artist residency, generative workshops for youth and adults, and juried awards, the festival fosters critical and creative growth around the medium of video poetry.

7th Annual Cadence Video Poetry Festival Apr 19–21 [In-Person] & Apr 19–28 [Online]

Submit your video poem

Submissions are open through Feb. 5, 2024 for Cadence 2024. Read full submission guidelines and submit your film using the button below.

Read about past editions of the festival at the foot of this page.

Apply for the Artist Residency

The Cadence Artist-in-Residence program provides resources and tools for the development of a new video poem to screen at the festival.

Applications are open through Dec. 15, 2023.

ABOUT
Northwest Film Forum selects an artist or artist team of two to develop a new video poem for inclusion in Cadence Video Poetry Festival each year. The selected artist(s) will have access to NWFF’s film equipment and edit lab, as well as an opportunity to receive training or participate in a scheduled workshop to develop or supplement their filmmaking and/or editing skills. The Artist-in-Residence will be asked to participate in a post-screening conversation with festival co-directors and other participating artists.

BACKGROUND
The Artist Residency launched in 2019 as part of the festival’s commitment to fostering the generation of new video poetry.

ELIGIBILITY
Artists or artist teams of two residing in Seattle, 18 years of age or older.

APPLICATION DEADLINE
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Final deadline for consideration is 11:59pm PT on the due date.

SELECTION CRITERIA
The Artist-in-Residence will be selected on the basis of their distinct vision and voice, as demonstrated in work samples, and their commitment to developing new work within the medium of video poetry.

TIMELINE
The Artist-in-Residence must meet the following deadlines and produce a finished work for one of the festival screening dates. Workshop participation, edit lab, and gear use are optional, though highly encouraged.

Dec. 15, 2023 – deadline for application
Mid-Jan 2024 – all applicants notified of decision
Late-Jan. – Mid-Apr. 2024 – residency @ NWFF
Apr. 19–21, 2024 – single screening of final video poem within one in-person showcase of Cadence Video Poetry Festival
Apr. 19–28, 2024 – on demand screening of final video poem within one online showcase of Cadence Video Poetry Festival

CONTACT
Please direct questions to cadencevideopoetry@gmail.com.

Image credit: refrigerator hum by jade wong

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Submit your poetry book

Cadence hosts a virtual Poetry Book Fair as a literary resource to share the work of artists the festival has featured and worked with over the years. If you are a current or former Cadence participant, we’d love to include your book in the lineup!

Eligible artists submit here >

See the 2023 edition of the book fair here >

Chelsea Werner-Jatzke

Cadence Co-Director

Chelsea Werner-Jatzke is an author, filmmaker, and curator exploring the liminal spaces of the literary arts. Her interest in how words are experienced has resulted in gallery installations, classical music performances, broadsides, karaoke, and video poetry. She is co-director of Cadence Video Poetry Festival, co-curator of Good Symptom: A Serial Anthology of Time-Based Disturbances (The 3rd Thing), and a community board member for the Seattle City of Literature. Chelsea was recently published in Tri-Quarterly and featured in Local Sightings Film Festival (WA), Aorta Poetry Film Festival (NZ), and Festival Fotogenia (MX).

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Rana San

Cadence Co-Director

Rana San is an intermedia artist, curator, and night dreamer pondering language and lineage, intimacy and interdependence. Her creative and curatorial practice centers experimental and analog approaches to storytelling through film, writing, and movement presented on screen and stage. Based between Seattle and Istanbul, she co-directs Cadence Video Poetry Festival and is a co-curator of Good Symptom: A Serial Anthology of Time-Based Disturbances. Rana has recently presented work at Engauge Experimental Film Festival (WA), Experiments in Cinema (NM), and Helios Sun Poetry Film Festival (MX).

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Cadence Video Poetry Festival

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EARLYBIRD PASSES ON SALE NOW!

ALL CADENCE 2024 FESTIVAL PASSES GRANT ACCESS TO BOTH VIRTUAL AND IN-PERSON VIEWING

Welcome to Cadence Video Poetry Festival!