Film – Screen Verse Competition: What It Is, Where It’s Run and How It’s Judged

A team film-making competition in which a poem is brought to the screen, with images, voice and sound set to its words and rhythm.

Film – Screen Verse is poetry made for the camera. A poem, original or chosen, is read or spoken by one or more voices, and a crew builds a short film around it so that the pictures, the sound and the rhythm of the words work as a single piece. It is related to a live verse item, but the audience meets the poem through an edited film rather than a performer on a stage.

In eTalenter’s Kenya schools drama festival template it is a Team entry open to both genders, offered in all five age groups from Pre-Primary through Primary, Junior School and Secondary to Tertiary, marked out of 100 and set in English. The template sets no running-time limit, and the Evidence only prints a full marking scheme for Play, so organisers decide how verse films are weighted and how long they may run.

A typical entry starts with the poem. The crew decides what each stanza should look like, whether literal pictures, symbols or a contrast with the words, and records the verse in one or several voices. Footage is then shot to match the lines, and the editor cuts to the beat of the reading so that an image lands as the word it belongs to is spoken.

Organisers add it because it brings in students who love poetry but also those who prefer to film, edit or compose, and it leaves a recorded piece that can be screened again without a stage. It sits in the film strand between screen dance, which is led by movement, and screen narrative, which is led by a storyteller’s voice.

Where Film – Screen Verse is run

In eTalenter’s data this item appears only on the Kenya schools drama festival template, where it is the fourth item of a six-item film strand, scored as a Team item out of 100 in each of five age groups. This page makes no claim beyond that template.

• Kenya

Key facts

• Team entry, open to both genders
• Five age groups: Pre-Primary, Primary, Junior School, Secondary and Tertiary
• Marked out of 100 on the template; no verse-film breakdown is printed in the source, so organisers set it
• No running-time limit is set on the template, so publish your own maximum
• English is the template language
• Submitted as a finished film and screened to the panel, not performed live
• Distinct from Solo Verse and Choral Verse, which are performed live, and from Screen Narrative, which is story-led

On eTalenter, Film – Screen Verse is filed under Off Stage and typically scored with Marks. It appears in 1 ready-made event templates — each one can adjust its time limit, age-group assignment and scoring setup independently.

Across the templates that use it, Film – Screen Verse is most often entered as an Team competition, typically scored out of 100.

What judges look at in Film – Screen Verse

What a Film – Screen Verse panel is actually weighing up, and where the marks are usually won or lost:

• Choice and understanding of the poem: a text the crew clearly grasps and can bring to life on screen
• Voice work: clear, expressive delivery with pace and pauses that respect the lines
• Images that interpret the verse: pictures that add meaning or mood rather than simply illustrate each noun
• Rhythm in the edit: cuts and transitions timed to the beat and breath of the reading
• Sound balance: a clean voice recording with any music or ambience kept under the words
• Fit to the brief: running time, format, language and any theme or content rules set by the organiser

Treat these as the judging focus, not a fixed rubric: publish your own weighted criteria for Film – Screen Verse under Scoring Setup, or start from the judging and scoring guide.

How to prepare for Film – Screen Verse

How entrants and their teachers usually get Film – Screen Verse right on the day:

• Choose a poem that suits the age group; younger crews do well with short, vivid verse of a few stanzas
• Read the poem aloud together and agree what each stanza means before anyone picks up a camera
• Mark the poem line by line with the image or action that goes with it, then turn that into a shot list
• Record the voices first in a quiet room away from wind and echo, and listen back for clarity and pace
• Shoot more footage than you need, varying close and wide shots, so the editor can follow the rhythm of the reading
• Edit to the voice, not the other way round, and drop any shot that does not earn its place
• Export in the format and by the deadline the organiser gives, and test the file on another device before handing it in

Frequently asked questions

Is Film – Screen Verse judged individually or as a team?

Across eTalenter’s templates it’s most often run as an Team entry, though an organiser can set either participation type when assigning the item to an age group.

What is the difference between Film – Screen Verse and Solo Verse?

Solo Verse is performed live by one speaker. Screen Verse is a recorded film in which a poem is spoken over images, and it is entered by a team. The Kenya template lists them as separate items, so each is judged for its own purpose.

Is Film – Screen Verse an individual or team entry?

On the Kenya schools drama festival template it is a Team item, offered to both genders in all five age groups.

Can we write our own poem?

The template does not restrict the source, so original or chosen verse can both be allowed. The organiser should state the rule, including any permission needed for published poems.

How long can the film be?

The template sets no time limit, so the organiser should announce a maximum running time and teams should finish comfortably inside it.

Want the full judging picture? Read the judging and scoring guide, or browse every off stage competition item.