Captivating Filmpoem Documentary Terra Incognita: Mapping Creativity with Poet Tony Williams at the Topographies Conference
Our filmpoem documentary terra incognita: mapping the filmpoem took centre stage on 15 May 2015, when poet Tony Williams and I travelled to the University of Bristol to present it at Topographies: places to find something—a one-day conference exploring how place, imagination, and creative practice intersect across literature, art, and film.
Our contribution was a “film paper,” an experimental format combining film and live discussion. In terra incognita, Tony and I captured an extended conversation as we tried to navigate the fascinating but often ambiguous world of the “filmpoem.” It’s a form that seems both familiar and undefined—a hybrid of film and poetry that’s multiplying rapidly online thanks to affordable digital cameras and platforms like YouTube. And yet, despite this growing presence, it remains an uncharted artistic landscape.
“It seems to me it’s like an uncharted territory. The kind of pioneers going out like the Wild West. And so our job might be to start to sketch a map.” — Tony Williams
In our filmpoem documentary, we explored how many filmpoems traditionally begin with a poet’s text, with film created as an accompaniment—like Tony Harrison’s V or the works of filmmakers such as Alastair Cook. Yet, as we discussed in terra incognita, new approaches are emerging where poets and filmmakers collaborate from the start, or where the poem responds to film instead of preceding it.
A recurring question in our discussion was: what makes a filmpoem more than simply a poem read over pretty visuals? We critiqued the tendency for some filmpoems to become purely illustrative—beautiful imagery layered under voiceover, without either medium truly transforming the other. Instead, we were curious about how film and poetry might create genuine dialogue, offering new narrative possibilities, rhythm, or the creative tension between sound and image.
“How do you do something which isn’t just ornamentation or illustration? Do you start with a poem and then film it? Or could you begin with film and let the poem emerge as a response?” — terra incognita transcript
We also explored how film and poetry share tools like the “cut,” which can serve as punctuation or dramatic shift in both media. Whether through visual edits or poetic line breaks, both art forms manipulate rhythm and surprise to captivate viewers. Films like Aleksandr Sokurov’s Russian Ark (filmed in one continuous shot) and the gliding camera movements in Tarkovsky’s Mirror and I Am Cuba offered inspiration for how filmpoems might craft narrative momentum and visual intrigue.
One theme that ran through our conversation was the idea of “cinematic” style. Audiences often expect a certain visual richness from a filmpoem documentary—even though much modern work is created in digital rather than celluloid formats. It’s a tension between high art and accessibility, something Tony and I were keenly aware of as we shaped terra incognita.
“There’s something about the idea that people have been making film poems for a long time, but actually seeing them hasn’t been something many people had the opportunity to do.” — terra incognita transcript
Presenting terra incognita as a film paper felt like the perfect fit. It allowed us not just to talk about filmpoems, but to show them in action—creating a live dialogue between our film, our discussion, and the audience. The conference crowd at Bristol was wonderfully engaged, sparking lively conversations about how filmpoems might evolve as both creative works and research methods.
For both Tony and me, terra incognita remains a kind of map-in-progress—a playful yet serious attempt to chart the shifting territory where film and poetry intersect.
You can watch more of my artist films and experimental documentaries here.