The Battle of the Bards

Text Messages from the Universe

A film that immerses its audience in subjective states of consciousness they might experience when they die, imagining what they can see and think and hear in a seamless but fragmentary flow of poetic images, words and music. The viewer undertakes a journey into their own interior world of dreams and projections in which time and space, and cause and effect logic, are turned on their heads. Text Messages from the Universe is inspired by The Tibetan Book of the Dead, a text which guides souls on their journey of 49 days through the 'Bardo', or intermediate state, between dying and rebirth.

A Farra do Circo

This documentary highlights the evolution of Brazil's Circo Voador venue from homespun artists' performance space to national cultural institution.

Fernanda Pivano: A Farewell to Beat

Upstream

Filmed entirely from the air, Upstream follows the course of the River Dee in Scotland, all the way to its source in the Cairngorm mountains, the highest of any river in Britain. With a prose poem written especially for the film by Robert Macfarlane and an original score by the Oscar-nominated composer Hauschka.

Refugee Poetry

The Kurdish Iraqi poet and actor Zeravan Khalil travels with his dog through an Alpine gorge after fleeing from IS war and genocide. As he remembers the abomination, he writes a poem with the title “You drive me mad” in Kurmanji Kurdish. In his home country, Yazidic Kurds are forbidden to work in his profession. Then he eats his apple and wanders through Europe’s middle with more hope.

The Beach - San Francisco’s North Beach in the 50s

San Francisco's North Beach in the 50's - A mix of jazz, poetry and art - The Beach recreates the atmosphere that prevailed through first-hand accounts from the actual "players" along with photographs and artwork from that vibrant time.

Morena

Road to the North

After nearly three years living in Japan, Fergus Gregg finds himself struggling to bid farewell to this beautiful country. On a journey tracing the path of his hero, the poet Matsuo Basho, Fergus decides to trek the northern landscapes of Tohoku. As he travels, he encounters more than he bargained for - facing setbacks, meetings with traditional hunter-gathers, and dances at northern Japan's largest Summer festival. Join Fergus Gregg on his 'Road to the North'.

Sophia, In Her Own Words

Using the author's personal estate, current images of places where she lived or were dear to her, and archival images of television and film; using parts of her prose and poetry always with first-person testimonies; from Porto to Lisbon, from Granja to Lagos, from the Atlantic Sea to the Mediterranean, from Greece to 25 April: the passions and disappointments of a life and work dedicated to the search for the real, freedom and justice.

Miguel Ramón Utrera

Documentary about the poet Miguel Ramón Utrera.

Great Spirit

Documentary video journey in search of the missing Tatar poet Rahim Sattar. The path from the present to the past runs through a polylogue of experts, folk music, works by contemporary artists, musical and creative interpretation of poems by Rahim Sattar and unique archival newsreels shot at the dawn of cinema.

Knickknacks

A visual poetry short film, inspired by and featuring the poem "Knickknacks" by Tuesday Taylor York.

Cure for Loneliness

A love letter to cinema and a personal reflection on loneliness. Segment from Fringe Hippo's anthology film "Elegy Apokalypto".

The Music of Life

Eldar Ryazanov reads his poetry. An introspective movie on his multifaceted work.

A Fanatic Heart: Geldof On Yeats

A biography of the poet W. B. Yeats and his contribution to the Irish independence movement as a Protestant nationalist.