The Winter Latino / x / Hispanic film festivals are here and I have been so fortunate to have films in all of them. I Cannot be Human is in Fotogenia and also VideoBardo. These festivals run more or less from the 22nd to the 3rd of December.
VideoBardo, Buenos Aires, 23rd / 24th November & 1st–3rd December
FOTOGENIA 22nd of November to the 3rd of December  
https://www.fotogeniafilmfestival.org/
I also have Villanelle with Elizabeth in the Helios Sun curation for VideoBardo - see next post!  

This is one of my favourite events in the poetry film calendar.  Now the 7th MALDITO (Damned) video poetry festival 31st/10-5/11. Very excited that Climate Change and Subjectivity film (first shown at REELpoetry) with Ian Gibbins and Mary McDonald is part of the longer submissions selection alongside the unmissable Now and Then by Pam Falkenberg and Jack Cochran. These will be shown online at ON-LINE | FILMIN.

Also they are showing winners from all the years, so very proud that Selfie with Marilyn will be screened on the 31st October at the Teatro Circo de Albacete.  Can't wait to see the group together and the variety from many different countries, and the creative approaches involved. I am very honoured to be part of this screening.

They say: 'A collection that offers us a  panoramic vision of what is happening in the world , and, what is even more significant, in the artistic field. Here we find what inspires and excites us, as well as the artistic trends that emerge in other disciplines. It is an authentic reflection of the artistic and, of course, social panorama. An opportunity to see high quality works, creations by artists from all over the world, who use  various visual techniques and poetic styles  to elevate this genre to the category of art.'
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With music, and live events, congratulations to the organisers and director Javier Garcia for bringing this exciting event together, Also . www.malditofestival.com

https://liberatedwords.com/2023/10/24/maldito-videopoetry-festival-on-the-horizon-with-auspicious-dates-31st-oct-5th-nov/
 

MIX conference is back, and this time at The British Library in London, on the 7th of July. Co-hosted this year by Bath Spa University and The British Library, the Storytelling in Immersive Media programme centres on leading practitioners in AR, VR, game design, interactivity, etc. It also includes  established poetry filmmakers such Jane Glennie discussing digital reimaging and the archive, and myself, Janet Lees and Csilla Toldy presenting on ‘Narratives of Climate Crisis: Voicing Loss Resistance and Hope Through Poetry Film’.
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There will also be a chance to see the  Digital Storytelling exhibition currently showing at The British Library, along with a guided tour and tea!
 
The Keynote Speaker is the multi-talented  Adrian Hon  ‘the co-founder and CEO at Six to Start, creators of gamelike stories and story-like games including the world’s best selling smartphone fitness game, “Zombies, Run!” with ten million players, the exhibition of which will be a highlight of Digital Storytelling.
He’s author of You’ve Been Played: How Corporations, Governments, and Schools Use Games to Control Us All and A History of the Future in 100 Objects, a columnist at EDGE magazine, and has spoken at the flagship TED conference, the Long Now Foundation, GoogleX, and Disney Imagineering. Before becoming a game designer, Adrian was a neuroscientist and experimental psychologist at Cambridge, UCSD, and Oxford.’
At the end of the day there will be a performance of An Island of Sound by Jules Rawlinson and JR Carpenter. A must see.
programme
 

AN ISLAND OF SOUND
Bookable time slots for the VR works will be available during conference registration at The British Library on 7th July.
 

REALLY THRILLED to be interviewed for a Spotify podcast by SOPHIE KAZAN (art historian and great podcaster) about POETRY FILM. A really interesting set of questions xx thank you so much Sophie xx Already I am getting really nice comments from listeners. Really rewarding.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/39R6JLvZdPYCnexHstw4bs...

Thrilled to be presenting at Women in Word in Penzance this Friday, where a really strong and vital selection of poetry films will be screened. The whole weekend promises to be really memorable so try and get to the sun!

AFTER WORDS
This event was really well attended (no seats left, in fact additional seats needed) and the introduction which included a mention of The Poetics of Poetry Film, had everyone buzzing. Many people interested in discussing it further. The next day a very special poetry reading and fascinating discussion with Penelope Shuttle and Karen Smith (what inspired, complementary programming). And in the evening a chance to dance in a 18th-century ballroom at the back of a pub/hotel. Perfect way to celebrate Women In Words! Thank you Linda Cleary for all your hard work. Memorable.

‘The FilmArte Festival returns to Madrid for an evening filled with some of the best films about art(ist)s in our Spring 2023 edition! In addition to watching the films at the amazing Artistic Metropol, you’ll also get to ask your questions to the film teams participating in our Q&A!’
 
Very proud to say that The Exhibition by Charles Olsen is included in the screening. He commissioned myself alongside a group of highly talented artists  to make short responses to his playfully ‘irreverent’ docu-journo-video essay on the art world. My work for him was about my rabbit Duchess and the importance of the environment to me (even in my small backyard) over the importance (or lifelessness) of the museum. It reflected on the way art cannot achieve the same beauty as nature itself. When Duchess died, the silent film I gave to Charles eventually became its own short poetry film – I Cannot be Human – where I added text that attempted to share my grief at the dying planet and Duchess’ death. As an autistic artist I also feel very close to animals and birds and the vital role they play in my happiness.

I hope to make it to Madrid – one of my favourite cities – and I also know this is a very special event. Buzzing to be part of it. Thank you Charles!