We are thrilled to announce the winning entry in Ó Bhéal’s 8th International Poetry-Film Competition – Noho Mai.

 

‘Symbolized in the bird’s flight, a group of Māori, Pākehā and Colombian creatives explore life’s journey, the longing to return to the nest, and the life-giving connection with our ancestors.’

This year’s judges Dareina Ní Chinnéide and Paul Casey, selected one entry to receive the Ó Bhéal award for best poetry-film, designed by glass artist Michael Ray. The winners were announced directly after the shortlist screenings.

“And so, I was drawn into this beautifully filmed, beautiful soundscape, delivered with a natural ease, the first time I watched all the wonderful poetry films submitted to this competition. The sparse lines of the poem ran along the wind of the film with powerful imagery. Strong but subtle. Neither the text, nor the image in the frame, collided – but fused together. The visual elements I was looking for were right there. The text of the poem was powering the vision in this beautiful language, I could not help but respond warmly to this film. It was a huge challenge to choose one overall winner in such a feast of poetry films, one which shone. This one did it for me. Congratulations all.” – Dairena Ní Chinnéide

“An absolutely stunning film. The finely wrought dance of words, visuals, music, pace and the dreamlike cadences of the Māori language. Noho Mai delivered everything I look for in a poetry film. A moving, beautiful poem and universal, timeless core of meaning which speaks also to our particularly detached and disconnected times. The filmmaking is a testament to the power of collaborative vision, crafted through the generous talents of six visual artists from New Zealand, Colombia and Spain. I would encourage any and all to relish this gleaming and worthy winner. An exquisite poetry film. – Paul Casey

Congratulations to all of this year’s shortlisted poets and for two highly commended entries from Cliona O’Connell (Ireland) and Rosemary Norman (England).

Shortlisted poems will appear in Five Words Vol XIII, to be launched at Ó Bhéal on Monday the 13th of April 2020, along with the award presentation and readings from contributors.

The 8th Five Words International Competition will commence at noon on Tuesday the 14th of April, 2020. Due to a significant increase in submissions, the competition will be increasing its prize money.

The 7th Winter Warmer festival saw an marked increase in audience numbers in the KINO and Hayloft Bar over three days. The festival featured 23+ poets, poetry-films, poetry set to music, live performance with film, workshops and a poetry film panel discussion.

The Saturday afternoon featured a closed-mic set for ten local poets. Events on Sunday 24th took place at Ó Bhéal’s regular home in The Hayloft Bar (Winthrop St), starting with a selection from Ó Bhéal’s 2019 Poetry-Film competition, followed by a multilingual Many Tongues of Cork session curated by Joanna Dukkupati to celebrate diversity through writing (and translation), featuring six female voices who represent a wide range of Cork communities. The session also included sign language interpretation from Ray Greene, with projected translations.

[L-R] Liz Berry, Afric McGlinchey, Aifric MacAodha & Anne Frater
 

With thanks to the festival sponsors and to the fabulous, ever-expanding team of volunteers. A truly communal effort and brilliant result. With thanks to Lovisa Cosgrave for the excellent videography and editing, and to poet/photographer Linda Ibbotson for the gorgeous photos – all available on our facebook page, at this link.

In 2019 Ó Bhéal welcomed Coventry poets Aysar Ghassan and Raef Boylan to Cork in August, while Cork poets Shaunna Lee Lynch and Benjamin Burns were sent (ceremoniously!) to Coventry, for two readings in November.

Our congratulations to Dublin based filmmaker Fiona Aryan whose film Virginia gave me Roses is Ó Bhéal’s 7th poetry-film competition winner, as announced at the IndieCork Festival awards ceremony. Fiona’s film won amid very tough competition from 31 other shortlisted entries representing 33 countries, the details of which you can view here. Our special thanks to all the poets and filmmakers who submitted this year. A record 198 films were submitted from 33 countries.

Poem: Virginia gave me Roses by Lani O’Hanlon

Synopsis – A film exploring impermanence, female relationships and the rituals that sustain us in times of sorrow, loss and joy.

Director: Fiona Aryan (Ireland)

Fiona Aryan is an artist and filmmaker who likes to look at the beauty and magic that can be found in everyday life. ‘Going to the Well’, a poetry-film made with poet Lani O’Hanlon was shortlisted for the Ó Bhéal Poetry-Film competition in 2018. She is currently studying for a degree in film and TV production.

 
“… a soft-focused, memory-like family interaction that supports, compliments and, at the same time, adds weight to an original text that is both moving and strongly visual … transports the viewer into a dreamlike state where one is enveloped by the profound sense of love and safety which being in a close-knit family occasion provides. – Stan Notte

“… though an awful lot of the entries were beautifully filmed and made, not all of the poems were strong enough to carry their film. Virginia Gave me Roses immediately worked for me on first viewing, and only improved as I watched it again. The beauty of the poem was matched by the subtle imagining of the visual. – Colm Scully

Congratulations to all of this year’s shortlisted poets, and for three highly commended entries from Jenny Pollak (Australia), Sophia Li (USA) and Steve Xerri (England). Our thanks to everyone who entered (297 submissions), and we are particularly grateful to judges Bernadette McCarthy & Matthew Geden.

The shortlisted poems will appear in Five Words Vol XII, to be launched at Ó Bhéal on Monday the 15th of April 2019, along with the award presentation and readings from contributors. The 7th Five Words International Competition will commence at noon on Tuesday the 16th of April, 2019.

The 6th Winter Warmer festival was the biggest yet returning to the KINO and expanding to four days. It featured 23+ poets, Ó Bhéal’s International poetry-film competition shortlist, poetry in theatre, poetry with music, a new multilingual anthology launch A Journey called Home, a hurling poetry session and closed-mic set for ten local poets.

With thanks to the festival sponsors and to the fabulous, ever-expanding team of volunteers. A truly communal effort and brilliant result. With thanks to Shane Vaughan for the excellent videography and editing.

Our congratulations to filmmaker Álvaro Martín from Valladolid, Spain, whose film set in Paris Accident de Personne is Ó Bhéal’s 6th poetry-film competition winner, as announced at the IndieCork Festival awards ceremony. Álvaro’s film won amid very tough competition from 31 other shortlisted entries representing 17 countries, the details of which you can view here. Our special thanks to all the poets and filmmakers who submitted this year. A record 193 films were submitted from 33 countries.

Poem: Accident de Personne by Álvaro Martín

Synopsis – We create metaphors in order to mention facts we don’t want to talk about.

Director: Alvaro Martin (Spain)

Born in Valladolid, Spain, with a degree in Philosophy by the University of Salamanca, Álvaro Martín is interested in all kinds of art, especially in cinema and literature. In 2011 he created the movie production company Dream Zero Films (www.dreamzerofilms.com), he has directed several film shorts under that brand, like The Adorable Tenant (2013), Stockholm (2013), Disintegration (2014) or Cinema Roxy (2014).

“A thought-provoking, well-structured meditation on what it means to exist and to die by one’s own hand, to feel overwhelmingly alone in a word of endless connectivity. Serious issues are expertly raised in just 3.5 minutes, with deptively simple language.