Check out these photos above from the Poetry Projection Project, taken by Bonnie Chan.

We also want to share these red carpet interviews with filmmakers and writers, recorded by Memoir Tree.

Angela Reza Tures was the winner of the Poetry Projection Project for best film made by an adult. Guest jurors Barry Jenkins and David Campos said their decision was unanimous for her film, “My Father, a Beautiful Animal.” We interviewed Angela briefly about the inspiration and creation of her film.

What drew you to choosing Indiana Pehlivanova’s poem for your film?

The poem is so beautiful in how Indiana describes her father as well as their relationship. I could instantly relate to the poem and found it inspiring. My dad and I are really close too, so it was also the perfect opportunity for me to capture just how awesome I think he is.

How did you decide to sequence your film?

Indiana was so beautifully descriptive in her words that it was easy for me to see images of my own father as I read the poem. I had a clear vision of certain moments in my dad’s life I wanted to capture for the poem but I didn’t want him to act anything out. I very much wanted the film to be a documentary. As a result, I chose to shoot during a weekend where my dad actually did everything I’d envisioned for the poem: riding his motorcycle with my mom, working in the garden, and taking my Grandfather out for breakfast. The film is also my interpretation of Indiana’s poem. I played with some of her words, adding visual metaphors for some lines and literal interpretations for others.

Were there any challenges in translating Indiana’s poem into visual images?

There were a few lines in the poem that I wasn’t sure how to translate. I was also afraid of misinterpreting any of the poem’s connotations. However, I eventually felt that it was alright for me to go with my instincts and create my own visual interpretation as long as I was true to the overall meaning behind the poem and authentic in depicting my own relationship with my father. For example, my dad and I don’t really like McDonald’s french fries. So, in the film, we opted to eat popsicles instead for the line of the poem that says “we share a smile over mcdonalds french fries.” I chuckle at the end of the line as a sort of “wink” to the audience.  I had a lot of fun personalizing the piece but also keeping the heart of it still very present.

Were there any surprises in the making of your film?

I was surprised by how much my dad accomplishes in a single day and how he can do anything!  He’s 56-years-old and he’s a super hero. He’s intelligent, gentle, loving, funny, and playful but also as tough as nails. I was surprised to find that he’s all of those things all at once. I’ve always admired my dad but now, I feel he’s an even bigger “larger than life” character than I could’ve ever imagined. I had never followed him around like that before, just watching all he does and deeply listening to all that he says. I would strongly recommend that everyone try that. Just start following people around (laughs). But seriously, you don’t realize how much you take for granted sometimes about your family.

What are you working on now?

Right now, I’m teaching documentary classes to several youth organizations in my hometown of El Paso, Texas. The primary goal is for students to learn how to use film as a means for positive social change. I’m also working on a feature documentary about a sacred mountain in Anapra, New Mexico called Mt. Cristo Rey. The mountain, sitting on the Mexico/U.S. border, has recently become a site of controversy. For decades, both countries would climb and worship together. However, since 9/11, the Border Patrol has claimed and secured the border, prohibiting Mexicans from accessing the mountain. This has been a 9 year project, so I hope to complete it next year!

Tatyana (center) with Aimee Espiritu of Children’s Creativity Museum and Melissa Hung from WritersCorps.

What drew you to turning Hong Truong’s poem into a film?

Hong Truong’s poem really stood out to me because of the images that came to mind just from reading it. The poem was written in a linear format so a story could be told. I read most of the poems that were offered but hers really caught my eye due to the depth behind words and the emotion already there. With any kind of animation its best to push any kind images to convey emotions. By push I mean that to show a pose or a movement that maybe exaggerated to instantly get an emotion known without having to say it. The fact that the spoken poem had so much emotion both in the way she read it and written it made creating the images much less of a struggle.

How did you decide on what images to create from Hong’s poem?

I wanted to show two different worlds in which the character is simply lost and depressed. I wanted to separate the character that is lost with the version of the character that seems to find itself. The hardest image to come up with would be for the lines that describe the nightmare that the character describes. Originally I wanted to use different settings for each description. I planed to use the rotateable table and record the character spinning in different locations. In the end I decided to just do one location that could fit most of the descriptions.

What are all the materials you used to create your film?

I used a lot of different kinds of materials. Mostly they were scraps I could find either at the Children’s Creativity Museum or my home. The character was made of wire and clay. The wire was used as a skeleton to keep the character solid with the ability to move without falling apart. The bedroom walls were made from tile swatches glued to cardboard. The bed is made from wire and Popsicle sticks for the frame. Clay was put on top to make it look like there were sheets and a quilt. The mirror was made from a piece of reflective plastic. The frame on the mirror was just thumbtacks with the points cut off. The only other set I had would be the forest scene. That scene used a small rotatable table that I covered with black felt. The trees were made from twisting wire and to cover the hot glue cone, I ended up tearing up smaller pieces of felt to make it look fluffy and could represent foliage.  Some of the odd gleams that can be seen hanging from the trees were strands of the hot-glue gun.

Were there any bumps in the road while making your film?

The most struggling part of the project was time. I had to 3 months to work to create all the props, characters, animate it as well as edit it. Three months is normally a good stretch of time to make something that is a minute long but due to the fact that I can only work on weekends due to school, I spent every weekend sitting and working in a little room, making and putting together the parts for the different scenes.  The other struggle I had was figuring out how to edit. I am used to creating an animation but I never really did any kind of editing before. The scene where the character is a transparent was created using a green screen. I ended up doing a crash course of final cut pro to get the effects I needed in place.

Are you working on a film now?

Currently, I am just working on schoolwork but I have other ideas for future animations. During the summer, I plan to make another animation for the Children’s Creativity Museum.

Join us for our year-end celebration of new student writing. Our students have been working with local writers on poetry, ghost stories, comic books and more. Now it’s time to unveil these new publications. We’ll also have hands-on workshops for teens. There will be button-making, a claymation booth, journal-making, writing activities and more. It all goes down after school on May 9. Click here for more info.

Poetry Projection Project winner Tatyana Kulchinskaya (center) talks about her winning film, "World Through a Mirror." All Photos by Bonnie Chan.

On Saturday April 21, WritersCorps held the second annual Poetry Projection Project, a festival of short films inspired by youth poems, at the Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts.

Marcella Ortiz shares her poetry.

The audience enjoyed a reading by three WritersCorps poets (Marcella, Evelyn, and Indiana), followed by a screening of 10 short films. Then, special guest jurors Barry Jenkins, award-winning filmmaker based in Oakland, and San Francisco Supervisor David Campos praised the work of the filmmakers and poets before announcing the winners of the festival.

Barry Jenkins, guest juror, announces youth winner.

The winners were:

Best of the Festival — Video made by an adult
“My Father, A Beautiful Animal” directed by Angela Reza Tures
Based on the poem “as pondus ominum/to the weight of all things” by Indiana Pehlivanova

Best of the Festival — Video made by youth
“World Through Mirror” directed by Tatyana Kulchinskaya
Based on an untitled poem by Hong Truong

Congratulations to all the filmmakers and poets! If you missed the screening, don’t worry. Videos will be posted online very soon. In the meantime, see more photos of the Poetry Projection Project here.

Special thanks to our in-kind sponsors: Rainbow Grocery and SourFlour, and to Memoir Tree for conducting red carpet interviews.

Lights! Camera! Poetry! In celebration of National Poetry Month, WritersCorps and Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts present the Poetry Projection Project, a festival of short films based on youth writing. Join us on April 21 for a screening of the films and live performances. Guest jurors Barry Jenkins (filmmaker, “Medicine for Melancholy”) and San Francisco Supervisor David Campos will announce the winning entries of the festival. For the festival trailer and more details, go here.

Calling all poets between the ages of 13 and 18. You could be crowned the Youth Poet Laureate of San Francisco or Oakland. Apply now for a chance at this top literary honor, plus a $5,000 scholarship. Application deadline is May 15. Click here for details.

On March 15, 2012 WritersCorps and the Contemporary Jewish Museum joined forces to present WritersCorps Live at the CJM featuring award-winning author Daniel Alarcón, along with two WritersCorps teaching artists and 7 students.

Before the reading began, about 30 WritersCorps students were treated to a private tour of the exhibit “Do Not Destroy: Trees, Art, and Jewish Thought,” by three interns from CJM’s Teen Art Connect program. Our students thoroughly enjoyed the thought-provoking art and group discussion.  Thank you to Simone, Francesca, and Anthony for giving us the tour!

After the tour, we shared a meal, ran through a mic check, and then the show began! Our student Sophie from Mission High School started the reading off. She was followed by Ashley and Iris from Aptos Middle School; Jules, a student from a WritersCorps after school program at the SF Main Library, and Rayville from Downtown High School.

Jules at the mic.

WritersCorps teaching artists Carrie Leilam Love and Rick D’Elia, who are both senior teachers in WritersCorps, also shared their writing.

Ms. Love shared an excerpt from her novel in progress.

Jayvonn and Kim, two of our students at the Juvenile Justice Center, were represented by their WritersCorps teacher Anhvu Buchanan, who screened two video poems that they had made.

Finally, our featured reader, the award-winning writer Daniel Alarcón, treated us to an excerpt from one of his stories.

After the reading, he signed books for our students and chatted with the audience.

Rick D’Elia, Jules, Daniel Alarcón, WritersCorps director Melissa Hung, Iris, Ashley, Rayville, Carrie Leilam Love, and Sophie.

Thank you to everyone who made it out in the rain to attend the event and support our writers. It was a packed house and we were happy to see all of you! Check out more photos from the event here on Flickr.

And don’t forget to mark your calendars for our next event, the Poetry Projection Project April 21 at Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts.

Our friends at other organizations have some great opportunities for teens — many of them are paid too! Application deadlines are coming up, so take a look and apply soon.

Contemporary Jewish Museum - Teen Art Connect - Deadline: March 26, 2012

Teen Art Connect (TAC) is a career exploration program that brings together high school students from diverse backgrounds for a year-long paid internship at the Contemporary Jewish Museum. TACs provide museum visitors with fun and educational experiences and help make the museum a vibrant place for teens. They learn about the museum’s exhibitions and architectures, learn about careers in the arts, help lead tours, and much more.

Time Commitment: 1 year. Training begins summer 2012.
Payment: TACs are paid minimum wage for all trainings and work hours completed.
Eligibility: You must be a high school student entering 10th, 11th, or 12th grade in fall 2012.
Click here to read more and apply.

Project Pull: Deadline: April 5

Project Pull is a paid summer internship program that provides professional mentorship to highly motivated, promising high school students from the diverse communities within San Francisco. During the eight-week program, Project Pull interns get a chance to explore careers in architecture, business, engineering and science by interning with a full-time City employee from various City departments.

Time Commitment: 8 weeks, June 11 to August 3, 2012
Payment: Paid
Eligibility: Student entering junior or senior year in high school or entering first year in college, Resident of San Francisco or student who attend school in San Francisco, Minimum 2.75 GPA for the most recent completed semester (Fall 2011)
Visit the Project Pull website for more information and to download the application.

San Francisco Youth Commission - Deadline: April 13, 2012

Do you care about issues that affect young people and your community? If you had a meeting with the Mayor or the Board of Supervisors, what would you talk with them about and advise them on? The Youth Commission is a group of 17 San Franciscans between the ages of 12 and 23 who stand up for the needs of young people in the policy and legislative debates at City Hall. Each member of the Board of Supervisors appoints one Youth Commissioner and the Mayor appoints 6 more.

Time Commitment: 1 year. If appointed, you must commit to a minimum of 15 hours per month (about 4 hours per week), in addition to attending trainings and retreats. Youth Commissioners will probably be appointed June 1, 2012. The term begins with with a retreat starting on August 24.
Payment: Youth Commissioners are not paid, however, you can receive health care.
Eligibility: You must live in San Francisco and be between the ages of 12 and 23.
Click here to learn more and apply.

Out of Site - Summer Arts Internship - Deadline: April 20, 2012

Have you ever thought about a career in the arts? Or maybe you’re just looking for a fun way to earn some money over the summer while doing something that matters. Through these internships at Out of Site, you’ll develop real art skills, learn how you can use the arts to have a positive impact in the community, gain job experience and walk away with some cash in your pocket. This summer Out of Site is offering internships in four different art mediums: Photography, Music & Percussion, Silkscreening, and Website Design/Digital Media

Time Commitment: June 18 - July 13, Monday - Friday, 10am-3pm
Payment: As an intern, you will receive a $400 stipend after the completion of the internship as long as you have fulfilled all of the internship requirements, including attending all workdays. If you miss a workday, you will not receive a stipend.
Eligibility: You must be between the ages of 14 and 18 and attend public high school in San Francisco. Ideal candidates are focused, community engaged and artistically inclined.
Visit the Out of Site website to download the applications.

San Francisco Public Library - Teen Media Center Design Advisory Board - Deadline: April 23, 2012
The San Francisco Public Library has been given a grant to plan a new Teen Media Center space at the Main Library. The library is seeking motivated and enthusiastic high school students to serve on the Teen Media Center Design Advisory Board. This group will plan events, make design decisions and survey teens about what they would like to see in a new Teen Center.

Time Commitment: 1 year, from June 1, 2012 to June 30, 2013. The Board will meet at least once a month at the Main Library and members will be required to attend other events, including weekend and after-school hours. The average monthly time commitment will be approximately 4-10 hours.
Payment: Members of the Teen Media Center Design Advisory Board will be offered a stipend at the rate of $12 an hour for their time and commitment.
Eligibility: You must be currently attending high school in San Francisco.
Click here for more information.

Youth Empowerment Fund Advisory Board (YEFAB) - Deadline: April 23, 2012

YEFAB is hiring young people for its 2012-13 Board. They are looking for youth who are passionate about making positive change in San Francisco and want to help decide how to fund and support youth programs. Each year, YEFAB gives out over $1 million to youth-led projects and programs including youth grant-making, community organizing, and youth leadership programs. YEFAB members also work with the SF Youth Commission and other youth leaders, to determine what issues to address and to be a voice for youth in SF.

Time Commitment: 1 year
Payment: Receive a stipend of up to $2000
Eligibility: You must be between 15 and 20 and live in San Francisco; have a 2.5 cumulative GPA or higher, have at least 1 year of leadership experience; be committed to making positive change for youth in San Francisco; be willing to work with youth and adults from diverse backgrounds.
Click here to apply.

LYRIC
LYRIC: Building Community and Inspiring Change for LGBTQ Youth is now accepting applicants for Summer In the City (S.I.T.C) interns to create a dance event for youth 24 & under, gain skills in facilitation, community building and outreach while learning what it’s like to work at a social justice non-profit.

Time Commitment: June 11 to  September 10, 2012 (10 hours per week)
Payment: $11 an hour
Eligibility: LGBTQQI youth and allies between 14 to 17 years old.
For more information, contact Isa Noyola, SITC Program Coordinator at 415-703-6150 x21 or isa@lyric.org.

– Jessica Tung, age 13
From the WritersCorps anthology “So Loud in The Silent Sky” at Aptos Middle School