Film and poetry are like the white and black stripes of a zebra: they fit together beautifully. Every two years the ZEBRA Poetry Film Festival shows the current state of a dynamic, young short film genre which lies somewhere between poetry, film and new media. The award offers both makers of poetry films and poets themselves from around the world a forum for fixing positions as well as exchanging ideas and experience – an ever growing group of fans of a genre which has won over even the most suspicious and sceptical in the audience. A comprehensive supporting programme with retrospectives, colloquia and talks complements the competition, which is unique worldwide.
For the 1st ZEBRA Poetry Film Award in 2002, over 610 films from 35 countries were entered; in 2004 it was more than 800 films from 57 countries. Entries came in from, among other places, Indonesia, Malaysia, Georgia and Iran; in 2010, in spite of stricter conditions of entry, over 900 films from 71 countries were entered – proof that the poetry film is a worldwide phenomenon and its importance extends beyond national and cultural borders.
From the films submitted a programme commission makes a selection for the competition and a jury decides upon the prizewinners. Both the programme commission and the jury are made up of representatives from film, poetry and media with international reputations. The ZEBRA Poetry Film Festival awards prizes to a total of 10,000 Euros.
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