Midwest Video Poetry Festival

×

Expand

Anjanaé Dawkins and Matthew J Pitts

A still image from 'Authors Note.'

A still image from 'Authors Note,' by Anjanaé Dawkins and Matthew J Pitts.

Madison embraces this fun event which returns for its seventh iteration. Midwest Video Poetry Festival has grown steadily from its first pandemic online-only year in 2020 to include three programs this year, starting hourly at 6 p.m. — encompassing 30 videos and three hours worth of experimentation, beauty and introspection. Find the film lineups below and more info at artlitlab.org.

media release: The Midwest Video Poetry Fest was launched by ALL in 2020 as an expansion of the collaborative and experimental work we seek to support in Wisconsin and beyond. Video poetry gives creators an opportunity to use one of our newest art forms—film—to transform one of our oldest art forms—poetry. It includes narrative, animation, experimental, spoken word performances, and more. For a detailed explanation of what video poetry is and what it can be, see The Poetics of Poetry Film by Sarah Tremlett (available in the Small Press Library); you can read an interview with Sarah Tremlett here and see her video poem "Selfie with Marilyn." The video poetry festival, which invites new audiences to discover (or rediscover) poetry, is the first of its kind in Wisconsin. In the first five years, it has attracted over 2000 submissions from over 92 countries. 

We are committed to continuing the growth of our international community with Wisconsin roots.  

Join us on Saturday, April 4, 2026 for a screening of video poems from around the world.

Starting at 6 PM: Eleven videos centering around place and belonging from Ireland, the Netherlands, Benin, the United Kingdom, Cuba, New York City, Pittsburgh, Milwaukee, and Ysplanti. 

1) Anything with a Switch (04m34s) Directed by Charli Brissey; Written by Charli Brissey.Michigan, United States

2) Beside Myself (03m00s) Directed by H. Paul Moon; Written by Bob Holman, District of Columbia, United States

3) Shrapnel (05m51s) Directed by Víctor Rodolfo Jiménez; Written by Víctor Rodolfo Jiménez, Cuba

4) Lettre à ma fille (04m09s) Directed by Michael Maurissens;Written by Amee, Benin

5) Upon Landing (06m03s) Directed by Damian Gonzalez; Written by Damian Gonzalez, Wisconsin, United States

6) Good Girl (03m57s) Directed by Matthew Thompson; Written by Kim Addonizio, United Kingdom

7) An Ode to Tony MacMahon's Den (05m46s) Directed by Luke De Brún; Written by Stephen James Smith, Ireland

8) Limerent Pittsburgh (02m48s) Directed by Anne Ciecko; Written by Anne Ciecko, Pennsylvania, United States

9) That's My Heart Right There (01m19s) Directed by Jake Alexander McAfee; Written by Willie Perdomo, New York, United States

10) Marinating (04m17s) Directed by Helmie Stil, Sjaan Flikweert; Written by Sjaan Flikweert, Netherlands

At 7 pm: These videos from the Russian Federation; the United Kingdom; Spain; Ukraine; the Netherlands; Lebanon; Germany; Urbana, IL; Kalamazoo, MI; and Columbus, OH center around storytelling (including myths, cinema, and books) and language. 

1) Bigfoot Takes His Wife to Mount Rushmore for their Honeymoon (04m34s) Directed by Matt Mullins; Written by Matt Mullins, Michigan, United States

2) Found Poetry: Invictus (01m00s) Directed by Dmytro Bondarchuk; Written by William Ernest Henley, 

Ukraine

3) Author's Note (03m15s) Directed by Matthew J. Pitts, Ajanaé Dawkins; Written by Ajanaé Dawkins, Ohio, United States

4) Whiteweight (04m45s) Directed by Alkistis Kafetzi; Written by Hlín Leifsdóttir, Germany

5) A Paper Coffee Cup Story (03m47s) irected by Igor Gusev; Written by Osip Mandelstam, Russian Federation

6) Blood Hounds (03m10s) Directed by Janet Lees; Written by Michael Martin, United Kingdom

7) Silence (04m34s) Directed by Pat van Boeckel; Written by Peter Verhelst, Netherlands

8) Espantamoscas (Shoo-flies) (02m50s) Directed by Charles Olsen, Lilián Pallares; Written by Julio Alcalá, Spain

9) The Tower of Babylon (03m36s) Directed by Matthew Thompson; Written by Niall McDevitt, United Kingdom

10) Abjad Hawaz (أبجد هوز) (05m00s) Directed by Hadi Moussally; Written by Hadi Moussally, Lebanon

11) Weathered by the Sun (04m56s) Directed by Cristobal Bianchi; Written by Cristobal Bianchi, Illinois, United States

At 8 pm: Films from Australia; Brazil; China; Ireland; the Netherlands; St. Augustine, FL; and Olympia, WA centering around the more-than-human world. 

1) I found some old footage of a tree (04m54s) Directed by Krista Leigh Steinke, Texas, United States

2) Invisible Rivers Triptych (04m34s) Directed by Marilyn McCabe; Written by Marilyn McCabe, United States

3) Red Bucket (03m51s) Directed by Patrick Moser; Written by Patrick Moser, Florida, United States

4) Mitosis (04m02s) Directed by Desi Mensah; Written by Louise Glück, Netherlands

5) Flowing Soil And Other Forms (05m28s) Directed by Yujie Xu; Written by Yujie Xu, China

6) Late on the Planet (05m00s) Directed by Julia Tonon; Written by Leonardo Piana, Julia Tonon, Brazil

7) Blame (04m51s) Directed by Emily Munro; Written by Emily Munro, United Kingdom

8) Are We There Yet? (04m13s) Directed by Ian Gibbins; Written by Ian Gibbins, Australia

9) A Vernacular of the Numinous (05m55s) Directed by M Freeman; Written by M Freeman, Washington, United States