A video poetry showcase curated by local publishers and arts organization partners Poetry Northwest, Mount Analogue, Pongo Publishing Teen Writing Project, and Interbay Cinema Society.

For ages 16+

Capture your unique cadence in a workshop that will take you from conception to premiere screening. From early cinepoetry to “bad lip reading,” participants will consider what compels them about the integration of poetry and image and work from that place. In a supportive workshop environment, we will write, film, and experiment, conceptualizing and developing video poems that may stretch the bounds of the genre. No experience with either poetry or film is necessary. Participants will have access to the NWFF editing lab over several weeks in April to complete their projects. Workshop participants will have the opportunity to screen their film at the April 25 showcase, to which they will receive complimentary admission with a guest! Taught by Amaranth Borsuk, a scholar, poet, and book artist working at the intersection of print and digital media.

A screening of video poetry packages from fellow festivals around the world featuring a selection of non-English language works. Showcase will include curated selections from Nudo Festival de Poesia Visual in Barcelona, Spain; Ó Bhéal International Poetry-Film Competition in Cork, Ireland; and International Video Poetry Festival in Athens, Greece.

For ages 13–18

In this interactive workshop, students will be introduced to the genre of video poetry and collaborate to create a video poem of their own. Students will engage with poetry playfully, through poetry games (exquisite corpse), video collage (through found footage), and soundscape. Fun, explorative, and experimental, this workshop will help students understand the many ways poetry can be experienced off the page. Using Adobe Premiere, students will create and edit their own video poems. Participants will have the opportunity to screen their film at the April 25 showcase of Cadence: Video Poetry Festival, to which they will receive complimentary admission with a guest. All equipment and software is provided. Students are welcome to bring their own tech, art, and writing to work with as well. This is open to beginners of poetry and film. Taught by poet, visual artist, and inaugural Cadence Artist-in-Residence, Catherine Bresner.

A selection of video poetry from the Cadence open call for entries in four categories: Adaptations/Ekphrasis (judged by Shawn Levy), Collaboration (judged by John Bresland), Video by Poets (judged by Sarah Minor), and Poetry by Video Artists (judged by Claudia Castro Luna). Judges within each of these categories will select a winning work that will be announced and featured again at the closing screening on April 25.

A showcase of the new video poetry generated by the festival’s many programs! The screening features the outcomes of both the youth and adult video poetry workshops, the work created by Catherine Bresner during her residency at Northwest Film Forum, the award-winning films from the open call for submissions, and a video poetry discussion featuring the local Cadence partner organizations.