This Movement is Silent by Paul Stringer | FIRST ACTS

From Random Acts Midlands, Paul Stringer's powerful, poignant and potent portrait of Birmingham combines poetry and filmmaking.

This Movement is Silent by Paul Stringer | FIRST ACTS

Set on the heaving streets of Birmingham, this short film roves from coffee shops to canals and explores the diverse poetry scene in one of Britain's iconic and innovative cities.

Within two minutes, four open-mic performers have eased the rhythm of Birmingham into their poetry, creating a spiralling dialogue.

"My city speaks to me with the tongues of thousands of oceans."

An element which struck me instantly was the fluidity of the visuals, gliding from one scene into the next. An espresso shot merges into a takeaway cup, feet striding across the pavements and sun bleaches across the lens as the camera pans to view the towering industrial buildings.

Each performer lent a new dynamic to the city and by the end of the film I had a real taste of the atmosphere in such a heaving, pulsing, and nocturnal city.

From the drumming syllables of Callum Bate to the molten sentences of Baz Mason, the film spreads its birth across rap and poetry. Between each performer are eruptions of applause, making the audio equally as absorbing as the visuals.

Author

Sienna James

Sienna James Voice Team

Sienna is the Assistant Editor at Voice. She spent three years studying History of Art at Cambridge University and loves to explore the intersection between politics, history and visual culture. She also loves to hear how young people and artists are engaging in various innovative forms of socio-political resistance whether that's activism or art-making.

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