In honor of Mattie Stepanek celebrating heart songs poetry!
The Mattie Stepanek Poetic Film prize honors filmmakers who share messages of hope and peace through their visual poems.
Jeni Stepanek offers this prize in honor of her son, Mattie, who in his brief life touched the hearts of thousands with his messages of hope and peace through original poetry.
2023 iff cfe mattie2 ongoing
Credit: myhero
FINAL DEADLINE 10/1
Credit: myhero
Mattie Stepanek Film Prize sizzle
MY HERO
Learn about the Mattie Stepanek Poetic Film Prize in the MY HERO International Film Festival
Mattie Stepanek
Produced by:Nathan Smith
A short animated tribute to poet hero Mattie Stepanek. The soundtrack features the St. Paul's Episcopal Day School choir singing a song inspired by one of Mattie's poems.
Instructions for students creating a visualized poem
Create a film illustrating a poem (make sure you have permission to use the poem or the poem is in the public domain).
You can create your short film in a number of ways, here are some options:
1. With VO - record a voice reading the poem and then find public domain images, or images and video of your own to illustrate the meaning of the poem.
2. Text on the screen. Write the poem into the text/title program of your video and use public domain images, or images and video of your own to illustrate the meaning of the poem.
3. Use metaphors to express a feeling, where the images and music are the poem expressing your feelings.
View all of the 2022 Mattie Stepanek Poetic Film Finalists
Credit: myhero
VIEW PREVIOUS WINNERS OF THE MATTIE STEPANEK POETRY PRIZE
2020 Professional Winner
To The Boy - for Mattie J.T. Stepanek
Produced by:Alana Daly Mulligan
Mattie's life philosophy was to play after every storm, so now, when we all feel tossed about but the waves of our world, we must remember to hold onto hope.
2021 High School winner
Peace Dances in MY Soul
Sarina Vaziri
A poem about celebrating nature and life.
Great examples of illustrated poems for inspiration
The Peace of Wild Things
Katy Wang
When despair for the world grows in me…
...I come into the peace of wild things.
~Wendell Barry
Still I Rise
Gabriel Diamond, Patrick Barnes, Phil Collis
A visual and musical interpretation of American poet and civil rights activist Maya Angelou’s electrifying poem "Still I Rise."
Sea Fever
Produced by:Tim Davies
A poetic & musical expression of connecting to the mighty sea.
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
Produced by:Taft High School
Based on the poem by Robert Frost
Nature Poem
Produced by:Jerrilyn Jacobs
The virtues of being among nature and finding inner peace
Learn more about Mattie and Jeni Stepanek
Dr. Jeni Stepanek
By: Slater Jewell-Kemker
Dr. Jeni Stepanek
is interviewed by MY HERO's Slater Jewell-Kemker.
Oprah's Surprise Visit to Jeni Stepanek
Produced by:Oprah Winfrey Network
Video tribute from Oprah Winfrey's Super Soul Sunday
My Son, Mattie J. T. Stepanek
By: Jeni Stepanek
Jeni Stepanek shares with us how her son Mattie was her hero.
"For Our World" a poem by Mattie Stepanek
Child peace activist and poet, Mattie Stepanek, wrote this poem after the tragedy of September 11. Read the poem that has touched millions.
My Hero, Mattie
By: Mark Cavanagh
Poem about Mattie Stepanek, an American child poet who had dysautonomic mitochondrial myopathy.
Mattie Stepanek: Facing the Future
Enjoy the poem "Facing the Future" by Mattie Stepanek, who died of a rare form of muscular dystrophy at 13. His poetry has touched millions of lives.
Jeni Stepanek
By: Claudia Herrera Hudson
Jeni Stepanek is an ambassador for Muscular Dystrophy who continues to spread her son Mattie's message of peace.
Jeni Stepanek To Receive 2016 My Hero Humanitarian Award
Organizer created on 3/7/2022 4:31:22 PM by Wendy Milette