FREE EVENT !
The Poetic Phonotheque is pleased to announce the return of Nature & Culture 2026: International Poetry Film Festival to Calgary!
The festival brings together poetry films, animation, short and experimental films, and documentaries from filmmakers around the world, alongside live poetry readings, filmmaker talks, and opportunities for conversation and connection.
Now connecting four cities across three countries, Nature & Culture 2026 takes place in Helsinki, Finland; Malmö, Sweden; Calgary, Canada; and Copenhagen, Denmark. Throughout October, the festival's digital edition presents over 100 films from 40 countries, followed by live events in each of the four host cities.
CALGARY FESTIVAL
The Calgary event will feature four curated, 60-minute poetry film programs, presenting an international selection of films exploring the relationship between nature and culture.
Each program will be introduced by a featured live poet, including:
• aloT of Poetry
• Flora Bews
• Alanna Bluebird
• Alex Rettie
FILMMAKER CONVERSATION
The festival will also feature a conversation with Calgary filmmakers Sheri-D Wilson and Sandi Somers, exploring the creative process and possibilities of poetry film.
ABOUT NATURE & CULTURE
Nature & Culture brings together filmmakers, poets, artists, organizations, and communities to explore humanity's relationship with our planet through film, focusing on the poetic language — visual, auditory, and multimedia — used to convey these messages.
Worldthreading in spirit, the festival uses community organizing and imagination to create global connections and a place to listen to important stories from around the world, projected through the lens of poetry.
The festival invites audiences to consider what a poetry film can be, how moving images and words work together, and how the ways we listen to people, places, and things change what they become to us.
Hosting the Calgary festival at The Confluence offers another opportunity to explore these connections. Situated at the meeting of the Bow and Elbow rivers, The Confluence is a place of gathering, history, and cultural exchange. Festival guests are encouraged to enjoy the site and its exhibitions, extending the conversation between nature, culture, place, and community beyond the films themselves.
FESTIVAL ADMISSION
Festival admission is free. Guests are warmly encouraged to support The Confluence by purchasing admission to its exhibitions, which they can also enjoy during their visit.
EXPLORE THE DIGITAL FESTIVAL
The full digital festival selection is available to watch for free at:
https://poeticphonotheque.com/natureandculturefilmfest/
Nature & Culture 2026 is an international collaboration presented by the Poetic Phonotheque and Red Door Magazine (Copenhagen), in partnership with STPLN (Malmö) and Konepaja Cinema (Helsinki).
The Calgary festival is made possible through the generous sponsorship of the Writers' Guild of Alberta and The Confluence.