The Edge of Silence, Maricar Bella, Director

The Edge of Silence explores a woman's twenty-year journey to reconcile with her mother's suicide. Haunted by the consuming "silence of the deep," she navigates a bustling city whose overwhelming noise becomes a reflection of her internal chaos. This poetic film delves into the disorienting nature of grief and the fight to shed inherited despair, ultimately charting a path toward rewriting her own story.

Maricar Bella is a director, storyteller, and mindfulness teacher, known for her deeply resonant work exploring themes of women's struggle and resilience. Born and raised in the Philippines, she developed a diverse perspective, further shaped by a foundational career in corporate finance and a transformative period of global travel. While attending a theater conservatory program, she shifted her focus from acting to directing, where she found her voice in shaping narratives that reflect the complexity of the human condition. As a mother and dedicated mindfulness practitioner, she brings a profound sense of empathy and insight into every project. Runtime: 3:31

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Personal Best, Nadia Valkanova, Director

Personal Best is an elegiac ode to the art of urban running. A collaboration between poet Kevin P. Gilday and director Nadia Valkanova, the film was shot guerilla-style on the streets of Glasgow over the course of a year, charting the changing character of a city in flux. A dynamic confluence of images mimics the propulsive movement of running while the poetic composition meditates on what we’re really running from when we lace up our trainers. A film poem capturing the loneliness of the long-distance runner while celebrating exercise as an egalitarian means of escape from societal anxiety.

Nadia Valkanova is a director and videographer living in Glasgow, Scotland. Her previous work includes online and television ads for large UK brands, as well as short films and documentaries. Her short film, The Block, won Silver at the 2023 Charity Film Awards.

Runtime: 3:10

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The Haunted Saxophone, Ron Campbell, Katarina Fink, Directors.

Warning: this animated short contains poetry, jazz and multiple fatalities. THE HAUNTED SAXOPHONE. Propped up in the window of a pawn shop is an old tenor saxophone. Little is known of its history (and mystery) until now...
A cautionary tale told by an unreliable narrator. THE HAUNTED SAXOPHONE is drawn, written, and performed by Ron Campbell with videography and animation by Katarina Fink.

Ron Campbell (www.soarfeat.org) is a writer, performer, and comic book artist. Katarina Fink (https://kittykstudios.carrd.co/) is a videographer and animator. They both live in the Bay Area, California. Runtime: 6:42

 

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Marinating, Helmie Still, Sjaan Filkweert, Directors

Marinating is a poem about the powerful vulnerability of opening your heart and your mind to another. In this intimate description, two people surrender their brains, their own thoughts, to the other and allow themselves to be influenced. It is an equal act, in which they both yield. Marinating is a loving resistance against the fear of the influence we can have on each other. A painful yet empowering reminder of our interdependence.

Helmie Stil is an award-winning filmmaker, specialised in poetry films. She is one of the directors of the Dutch Poetryfilm Festival and director of poertycinema - films inspired by poetry. Her films have been shown on national television and at international film festivals. Helmie was awarded the audience prize at the Weimar Poetry Filmfestival, won the Cadence Video Poetry Award, and was selected for the prestigious Outspoken Poetry Prize London. Runtime: 4:17

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The Living, Ngozi Magena, Trevor Moorhouse Edwards, Directors

A poetic tribute to the sacred pulse of existence, The Living is both a declaration and a reminder—an ode to life in all its complexity. Blending original verse, sound, and visual storytelling, the film honors the legacy of the creator’s late grandmother while celebrating the joy, resilience, and spiritual rhythm that shape how we live, love, and remember.

Ngozi Magena is a New Orleans-based poet and emerging visual storyteller, energized by the transformative power of expression as a tool for affirmation, introspection, and revolution. Her work often explores themes of Black womanhood, mental health, and liberation, and is rooted in the belief that language can both reveal and heal. In 2018, Ngozi published her debut poetry collection, Sin & Virtue, and has since performed her original work at showcases across the country. That same year, she co-wrote, directed, and toured the stage play Piece by Piece. The Living and Makers Mark mark her directorial debut. Runtime: 4:51

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WRATH OF MY HEART, Malgorzata Szyszka, Director

Katherine from (The Taming of the Shrew)
William Shakespeare demands the right to speak freely. She feels humiliated and betrayed, forced into a marriage against her will, with a man who mocks and disregards her. She accuses him of hiding cruelty behind jokes and condemns the world that now sees her as the "madman Petruchio’s wife." Her anger builds, but instead of suppressing it, she chooses to speak boldly, claiming her ultimate freedom: the freedom to voice her truth. In the end, she rebels against imposed roles and expectations. She refuses to be controlled by a man or by society—and insists on making her own choices.

Małgorzata Szyszka is a Polish writer, theatre director, and cultural producer. She is the founder and artistic director of an independent performance association based in Poland, dedicated to creating innovative theatre, documentary film, and audio projects that explore contemporary psychological and social themes. Runtime: 4:01

 

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Settler Trips Home, Alex Feliciano Mejia, Director

Using 16mm images processed by hand with eucalyptus homebrew, this cine-poem follows a settler's search for a colonial mansion now overtaken by eucalyptus trees. As the protagonist encounters these trees, their identity becomes fluid, expressed through digitally synthesized voices that shift between masculine and feminine expressions of settler coloniality. A poetic meditation on place and the precarity of place-based identities, Settler Trips Home invites reflection on time, space, and built environment, questioning our closest attachments. Runtime: 3:26

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Welcome to the Tenderloin, Paul Ghusar, Director

Welcome to the Tenderloin is a cinematic sestina, a poetry film that unravels the complex, resilient, and artistic soul of San Francisco's misunderstood Tenderloin district. Created by award-winning Filmmaker and San Francisco Bay Area Poet Laureate Emeritus James Morehead, the film challenges viewers to look beyond headlines, weaving historical and contemporary imagery to celebrate the spirit of the neighborhood and its people.

Paul Ghusar is a documentary filmmaker based in California. Currently a Dean's Fellow earning his master’s at UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism, Paul tells character-driven stories that explore identity, culture, and place. He’s a two-time Hearst Award winner and a recipient of the White House News Photographers Association award. Runtime: 4:21

 

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The Man in the Mangroves Counts to Sleep,

Donna Decker, James A. Moorer, Directors. 

A live performance/recitation of the poem by Donna Decker in April 2022 at the Challenger Learning Center Planetarium in Tallahassee, Florida. The Man in the Mangroves Counts to Sleep recounts the inner monologue of a homeless mathematician living in a

Key West mangrove swamp. As he surveys his current circumstances, “The Man” reflects on his past, his struggles, and his yearning. Runtime: 5:57

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The Crow Is Barking Up A Storm, Kimberly Reyes, Gary Boyd, Directors

A poetry film that uses a Corvid to illustrate the human condition.

Gary de Búit/Gary Boyd: Plant-based, adventure-head who's always look'n to humor for suggestions :) Kimberly Reyes: Kimberly Reyes is a poet, essayist, pop culture critic, and visual scholar. Runtime: 1:46

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Limbed, Anjali Pulim, Director;

Pushcart Prize-winning Indian American poet Ravi Shankar performs his poem Limbed, animated by Anjali Pulim. Original Soundtrack by Nitin Mitta and Dhruvit Shah. Production by Lucky Recording Studio.

Runtime: 1:33

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Director’s Spotlight

Special Screening (Non-Competitive)
Before the Tide Changes - Directed by Jacalyn Eyvonne, Festival Director

Inspired by Jacalyn’s short film Sisters, this intimate piece captures a quiet moment between two sisters whose love for one another feels timeless until the tide of life begins to shift. In the warmth of shared laughter and unspoken understanding, they hold a moment that neither realizes may soon be changed by loss. Before the Tide Changes is a gentle reminder to cherish the people beside us while the moment is still ours. 

Vallejo, CA Co-Poet Laureate Emerita, Jacalyn is the author of several poetry books, including I Am Not An Inconsequential Word and The Unyielding Weight of Words. Runtime: 3:18

 

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The Other Side, Olga Ushakova, Director

The daughter, in constant conflict with her mother, eventually finds common ground, but their fragile peace is shattered by circumstances beyond their control.

Olga Ushakova was born in 1974 in the Tambov region. She graduated from high school and university there, moved to Moscow, shot projects and reports for the Onko TV YouTube channel for a while, and then studied in the higher courses of screenwriting and directing named after him. Danelia, to the workshop of feature films Khotinenko V.I., Finn P.K., Fenchenko V.A. Runtime: 8:17

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Mirror, Kaye Tuckerman, Director

A nurse reflects on the pressures of health work. Based on a personal story by Seattle Health worker Jade Spencer.

Kaye Tuckerman is an internationally acclaimed actor, singer, director, and designer from the Northern Beaches of Sydney, Australia, now based in New York City. A graduate of WAAPA and NIDA and a PhD candidate at USQ, Kaye has built a dynamic, multi-faceted career across stage, screen, and production.

As a performer, Kaye has headlined some of the world’s most prestigious stages. Her stage credits include leading roles in Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 (Broadway Asia), Summer: The Donna Summer Musical (Broadway), and Mamma Mia! (Broadway National Tour), Les Misérables (International), Wicked, and The Boy From Oz. She’s shared the stage with icons including Chrissie Amphlett, Todd McKenney, and Jon Stevens. Kaye has also performed at Madison Square Garden and with The Boston Pops for the Boston 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular, alongside Jennifer Hudson. Runtime: 6:38