The Creative Writing Program & the Department of English Studies at Illinois State University will present “Cinépoetry,” poetry films on Monday, Feb. 22, 7 p.m. at The Normal Theater, 209 North Street in Normal. This event is free and open to the public.
Poet and new media artist and executive director of the Poetry Center of Chicago Francesco Levato will present a series of short poetry films in an examination of the convergence of cinema and poetry in the emergent genre of cinépoetry. The 50-minute program, which will include Levato’s award winning documentary short film War Rug, will be followed by a Q&A.
Named an Official Selection at the Potenza International Film Festival, War Rug, the film, is based on the documentary poetics of the book length poem of the same name. Interwoven narratives—from first hand accounts and news reports to counterintelligence manuals and autopsy reports—explore life within conflict zones through the lens of current warfare. The film collages and juxtaposes archival source material with U.S. Military footage in an exploration of alternative narrative interpretations of the source text.
