St. Martin Cinepoem selected for Wintertuin 2025 competition

GREAT BAY--The cinepoem The Sundering is Difficult, created by artists Lysanne Charles and Ras Mosera, has been selected for the competition section of the Nederlands Poëziefilm Festival in Zutphen, the Netherlands. The screening will take place as part of the Wintertuin Program 2025.

The work was featured at the festival last year, but outside of the competition. Its inclusion in the official competition this year marks an important milestone for the creators as the piece continues to gain international attention. The selected films will be reviewed by jury members in the coming weeks, with the winner announced at the NPF Award ceremony on November 1.

The Sundering is Difficult is based on a poem written by Charles nearly 20 years ago. The visual adaptation, led by Mosera and conceptualized with Charles, followed its selection as one of the winners in Wintertuin Curaçao’s inaugural Caribbean Cinepoetry Contest. That contest provides financial support and professional mentorship for artists blending poetry and film. As part of the prize, the duo worked with coaches Sharelly Emanuelson and Juan-Carlos Goilo to complete the project.

The cinepoem examines the relationship between mothers and daughters, especially as daughters face the inevitability of loss while mothers age. It also reflects on maternal bonds and the role of elders in shaping family and community identity. Charles dedicated the piece to her great-grandmother Rebecca Levenstone and grandmothers Carmen Simmons and Agatha Wilson, whose legacies she described as inspirations for her artistic and academic work.

Charles is a writer, teacher, researcher, activist, and artist from Saba and St. Martin. Her work addresses themes of identity, intergenerational memory, and social justice, and she is active in climate and governance research with the Island(er)s at the Helm project. Mosera, originally from St. Lucia and now based in St. Martin, is a visual artist known for his painting, multimedia, and film works exploring Caribbean heritage and transformation.

The poem was also featured on Charles’ 2024 debut poetic album Prophecy, produced with Mosera and supported by the Caribbean Culture Fund.

Reflecting on the selection, Charles said: “When I wrote this poem many, many years ago, I poured all of my fears and my love into it. I’ve read it at a few events, and it always seems to move people. I’m thankful I continue to get to work with the genius that is Ras, pairing my words with his visuals to share them more widely.”

Mosera added: “I encourage people to watch the work, but not just watch it, hear it, feel it. Art is always a new frontier, a pursuit towards a new horizon or horizons, a spark of renaissance among the clutter in our heads. This piece hopefully also creates artistic sparks in the people who experience it.”

The cinepoem is available for viewing on YouTube under the title The Sundering is Difficult with either artist’s name.

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