Headingley LitFest: We Are Poets - at Hyde Park Picture House

Wednesday, 28 September 2011

We Are Poets - at Hyde Park Picture House

Thanks to Peter Spafford for alerting us to this:

The award winning 'We Are Poets' is in Leeds for a very special 'homecoming' screening at the Hyde Park Picture House, Sunday 2nd October, 5:45pm

Sheffield Doc/Fest Youth Jury interview with Alex Ramseyer-Bache and Daniel Lucchesi from Jack Ranson on Vimeo.

We Are Poets is on tour around the UK and after a successful opening at the British Film Institute, it is now coming to it's home town of Leeds to share and celebrate this amazing local story. Don't miss it!

Winner of the Youth Jury Award at the Sheffield Documentary Festival 2011 and shortlisted for a prestigious Newcomer Prize at Grierson: The British Documentary Awards 2011, We Are Poets intimately follows six remarkable young poets from Leeds Young Authors, a youth poetry group based in Chapeltown, as they are chosen to represent the UK at Brave New Voices, the most prestigious poetry slam competition in the USA. From their inner city lives to a stage in front of the White House in Washington DC, the poets must prepare for a transformational journey of a lifetime.

Cinematic, honest and deeply personal, We Are Poets is a moving testament to the power of creativity, community and the dynamism of young people. Anyone tempted to dismiss today's youth as politically apathetic better pay heed: here is electrifying evidence to the contrary.

We Are Poets was directed and produced by local filmmakers Alex Ramseyer-Bache and Daniel Lucchesi.

There will be a Q&A with the directors and poets following the screening and live poetry performances!

Here's what a few people have said about the film:

Sheffield Doc Fest - "A poignant, truthful and uplifting perspective on youth today and its potential. From its utterly brilliant opening, through to its moving finale, 'We Are Poets' is inspirational!"

I-D Magazine - "Lyrical, inspirational and ultra-cool...a brilliant story and a milestone in breaking down stereotypes”

Benjamin Zephaniah - “Amazing...the film itself is a poem. Poetry is an art, filmmaking is an art, it's takes great sensitivity to bring them together - this film shows us how it's done!”

For more information and to book tickets: http://www.hydeparkpicturehouse.co.uk/index.php?showing=3151#now-showing

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LITERARY HEADINGLEY

Headingley is just the place for it! Don't expect a big circus with marquees, though: we're not at that stage yet. We're all volunteers as well.

Our venues include the HEART Centre on Bennett Road, the New Headingley Club on St Michael's Road, friendly cafés, historic local cinemas, Headingley Library, people's houses and the historic Leeds Library in Commercial Street, city centre.

Headingley's Literary Links

Headingley has strong connections with many writers:

Arthur Ransome was born in Headingley, J R R Tolkien lived at 5 Holly Bank and also at 2 Darnley Road, West Park when he was reader in English Language at the University of Leeds 1920 - 25, Alan Bennett lived over a butcher's shop opposite the Three Horseshoes, now Royale Dry Cleaners.

Lucy Newlyn has published poetry about her early life in Headingley, George Orwell stayed at 21 Estcourt Avenue with his sister Marjorie and her husband Humphrey 'Humpy' Dakin (with whom he visited the Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth), T S Eliot used to visit his mother-in-law in Weetwood Lane, William Fryer Harvey was brought up in Spring Bank, Trevor Griffiths lived just off Victoria Road on Winstanley Terrace, Jon Silkin's first office of STAND magazine was his flat at 144 Otley Road, Sir Geoffrey Hill lived in Shire Oak Road, Peter Redgrove lived in Headingley between 1962 and 1965 when he was Gregory Fellow of Poetry at the University of Leeds, and playwright Kay Mellor still lives near The Hollies in Far Headingley.

Wilson Barrett, the charismatic first manager of the Grand Theatre, Leeds (a prolific playwright as well), lived in Beech Grove Terrace, Woodhouse in the 1870s. His house was a meeting place for many writers, artists and visitors to Leeds - such as W. S. Gilbert, George Grossmith and Atkinson Grimshaw.

Headingley LitFest 2020 was the thirteenth. The fourteenth will take place from March 2021 and will be adapted to the rules of the Covid pandemic. We are now a proud part of the annual Leeds Lit Fest.