Man Ray, L’Étoile de mer, based on a poem by Robert Desnos
Cinepoem is a new trend in filmmaking but the history of the cinepoem goes back to the early days of cinema. The film avant-garde in the 20’s with artists like Man Ray, Paul Strand, Fernand Léger and Joris Ivens created cinepoems in an attempt to elevate film to an art form.
The career of Joris Ivens started with the production of a cinepoem. Rain was filmed in 1929 and is now included in the Film Canon of theNetherlands. Later he made several lyrical films such as ... a Valparaiso, Pour le Mistral and La Seine a rencontré Paris that won the Golden Palm for best short at the film festival in Cannes. Joris Ivens wanted to create a new poetic cinematographic language and during his career he encouraged new filmmakers to experiment with new forms of cinema. In this tradition we would like to curate a quality survey of contemporary cinepoems and stimulate a production environment that encourages young talent.
According to Christophe Wall-Romana, professor in French literature and main researcher of the poetry film genre, it is possible that some aesthetic features can be identified, but definitive principles are impossible to determine. He argues. that cinepoetry can take many forms. As a starting point, we have chosen the following definition: ‘A cinepoem is a film based on a poem, or a film that follows the form, aesthetics and rhythm of poetry.’
The European Foundation Joris Ivens, Wintertuin (a Dutch pioneering production house crossing borders between literature, poetry and modern art), and Go Short International Short Film Festival Nijmegen, will organize the first Cinepoem Competition between the 16th and 20th of March 2011.
Nowadays the genre sees a revival. Because of a democratized means of production and distribution, creative productions and artistic collaborations can be faster, cheaper and more easy be achieved. This stimulated the fusion various disciplines. It’s reflected in the rise of graphic poems, photo-stories, web comics and in the rising popularity of the cinepoem.
With this competition we want to address to a new generation of `culture consumers`. Just as there is a new generation of creators, there is a new generation of readers /viewers. Where a previous generation grew up with a handful of pursuits, this generation grows up with a multitude of media and expressions that require attention. In addition to books, television and radio, new media like games, internet, social networking, etc. This generation has not become illiterate, as some observe, but has become multiple literate, we are used to more input from multiple (hybrid) media simultaneously. The organizations consider the cinepoem therefore a form that is appropriate to the changing demands of a changing audience. We explore a way that can present poetry and a poetic cinematographic language to new generations.
ENTRY FORM: click here
