Vögel und Stromleitungen

Direction: Kamil Hertwig, Dean Ruddock

Text: Dean Ruddock

Sound: Daniel Yanik

DE, 2014. 4:23 min

“Everything is changing.
Everything is becoming the same.
Everything remains different.
Nothing is black and white.
—And certainly not simple.
So… Business as usual?”

Reinlichkeit und Brecht und Freizeit

Direction: Samuel Kramer

DE, 2016. 5:27 min

This clip is a historical record; raw and lossless, it captures Samuel Kramer’s performance like hardly any other poetry clip from that era; cut by cut, line by line.

Jenga

Direction: Muriel Hardt & LILA SOVIA

Text: LILA SOVIA

DE, 2021. 3:31 min

JENGA is an interdisciplinary spoken word project, which thematizes the recondition of sexual violence on FLINTA+ (female, lesbian, inter, trans, agender)people in particular. The fundament is layed by the performative poetry written by Sovia, which is audio-visually translated into practice by film – and motion designer Lash Production. In cooperation with a FLINTA+  freestyle hip hop and breakdance crew, directed by Muriel Hardt a Poetry Clip has derived that surpasses itself in terms of content and visual realization. JENGA carves out the immanence and visibility of voices and survivors of sexual violence overwhelmingly. JENGA can keep balance between consent and boundaries in a sensitive and empowering way with a will to shake the unsound tower of stunned silence. It gives a motion to the poem, a space for rage but above all it gives violence a face. JENGA draws a line under shame, silence and stillness and creates a space to express the weight that lies upon the oppressed to break up the patriarchy. to give it the rest.

 

CN:  this Poetry Clip may be retraumatizing for survivors of sexual violence. Please watch this clip carefully and make sure you are safe.

The Silence We Speak

Direction: Denise Lee

Voice: Denise Lee, Jackie Jau & Zhou Gen Jing

Instrumentation: Dean Ruddock & Denise Lee

DE, 2023-2024. 8:38 min

The Silence We Speak considers the different languages that play a role in the artist’s life and the stories behind her relationship with them. Each language carries traces of her own movement across distances, global hierarchies, familial loss and cultural shifts. The free-verse text was developed in tandem with the sound design and arrangement of personal archive footage and audio from Hong Kong, USA, Japan and Germany to create an interwoven mixed-media piece.
Originally conceptualized with a live performance of the text, this autobiographical piece is an exploration of the silent stories and power dynamics behind language and diaspora.

Murphy was an Optimist

Direction: Micha Kunze

Text & Performance: Micha Kunze

Music: Friedrich Rexer

DE, 2024. 3:15 min

A poet finds himself caught in a downward spiral, wrestling with the profound themes of nihilism, hope, optimism, pessimism, and the ambivalent nature of reality. What begins as an inner monologue becomes a confrontation with the outside world – a world on fire, both
metaphorically and literally.
Set against the backdrop of global crises – climate collapse, rising authoritarianism, social division – the film explores the fragility of hope in times when optimism feels almost obscene. Through spoken word, fragmented imagery, and a haunting soundscape, the poet navigates the absurdity of believing in a better future while watching it burn in real time.
Murphy Was An Optimist asks: Can we still speak of hope without lying to ourselves? Is optimism a form of resistance – or just another survival mechanism in the face of collapse? The poetry film refuses easy answers and embraces the contradictions of a generation torn
between action and resignation.

deutsche bestandaufnahme

Direction: Etritani Emini

Text: Tanasgol Sabbagh

Sound: Nazanin Noori

DE, 2024. 7:18 min

‘Deutsche Bestandsaufnahme’ is a collaborative project by the poet Tanasgol Sabbagh, the video artist Etritanë Emini and the sound artist Nazanin Noori.
The short film was created as a tribute to the victims of the racist attack in Hanau and explores racism and the persistence of right-wing violence in Germany following reunification, as well as the lives of those affected.
The video was first released on 17 February 2024 as a call to action for a memorial demonstration in Berlin marking the fourth anniversary of the racist attack in Hanau, and was shown as part of the exhibition KÖRPER:SPRACHEN at the Center for Literature at Burg Hülshoff in Havixbeck (Münster).

Cold (Fragment)

Direction: Fatima Mormourni & Laurin Buser

Sounddesign: Yanik Soland

DE, 2023. 2:30 min

In COLD, Moumouni and Buser merge into a single persona. This persona embarks on a wild journey. The goal: to escape the inner detachment from the world and from oneself.
Numb and sleepless, she wanders through new-build flats and glacial lakes, wellness hotels and stinking swamps – as well as through her own steaming mind. Just don’t give in to indifference! But how to throw oneself into world events without vaporizing?
A politically charged atmosphere, melting poles, social indifference – the second programme by the duo, winners of the Salzburger Stier award, tackles pressing issues and seeks to address them in a poetic and humorous way.