Filmpoem was founded by artist Alastair Cook in 2009 and is dedicated to the filming of words; based in the world festival capital of Edinburgh, Filmpoem has grown to become an international poetry, film, festival and workshop project. The combination of film and poetry is an attractive one. For the poet, perhaps a hope that the filmmaker will bring something to the poem: a new audience, a visual attraction, the laying of way markers; for the filmmaker, a fixed parameter to respond to, the power of a text sparking the imagination with visual connections and metaphor.
ZEBRA Interview Filmpoem’s Alastair Cook
The Literaturwerkstatt Berlin and CHASED, an online magazine from Berlin, interviewed Filmpoem founder Alastair Cook for an article on the ZEBRA Poetry Film Festival. How can poetry and film unite? AC: The very first films had text in them, often poetic texts. They have always united, there has always been a marriage between poetry and film, though […] read more
Liz Lochhead Filmpoem Workshop
Liz Lochhead, Scotland’s National Poet, led a Filmpoem Workshop in Greenock, with twelve children from Greenock Boxing Club Scotland. I Prefer Both was written read and filmed by the chidren in under two hours! This film is made all the more wonderful by the fact that everyone gave their time to the community voluntarily, and […] read more
Filmpoem 40/ The Gun
I have admired Vicki Feaver and her words for some time. I recorded this in 2011 and kept it safe, finally entrusting the sound to Luca Nasciuti and the cinematography to James William Norton, our core Filmpoem team. I’ve worked with Vicki on the amazing community arts project in Greenock, Absent Voices and also Empire […] read more