Cadence: Video Poetry Festival
About
Welcome to the Cadence festival archive page!
Looking for Cadence Festival 2021? Click here
Cadence Video Poetry Festival 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, Cadence fosters critical and creative growth around the medium of video poetry.
Read about past editions of the festival at the foot of this page, or visit here for updates on the 2021 festival (Apr. 16–25, 2021).
Cadence Call for Entries
Cadence accepts works that fit within the following categories of video poetry for inclusion in Cadence Video Poetry Festival.
- Adaptations/Ekphrasis: Videos created to bring new meaning and dimension to pre-existing poetry. Any poems used for this purpose must be in the public domain or else used with written consent of the author.
- Collaboration: Video poems created in collaboration between a video artist and writer.
- Video by Poets: Poets creating video from, or as, their writing.
- Poetry by Video Artists: Video artists using text visually or through audio intrinsic to the poetic meaning.
- Wild Card: Video work that’s poetically informed or poetry that’s visually informed that doesn’t neatly fit into one of the other categories.
Submissions for Cadence 2021 are open through March 1, 2021!
Cadence Artist-in-Residence call for applications
DESCRIPTION
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 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.
ELIGIBILITY
Artists or artist teams of two residing in Seattle, 18 years of age or older.
2021 APPLICATION PERIOD
Opens January 1, 2021.

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.
The festival 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, Cadence fosters critical and creative growth around the medium of video poetry.