This Is Not a Poem

What does it mean to be a migrant – with emotions split between a longing for your homeland and a desire to make a new life for yourself?

This Is Not A Poem is a film-poem based on the works of Cameroonian poet Eric Ngalle Charles and described as a “hymn to tolerance and diversity” by film-maker Greg Lewis.

Eric writes from exile as “strangers build thrones on [his] father’s grave”, having fled Cameroon via Russia and settled in Wales.

The film describes the life of a migrant, whose new home has allowed him to become a well-known and respected poet but whose heart still sometimes pleads with “passing birds” to carry him home.

Eric’s words appeal for compassion to be seen as strength not weakness, while images of his new homeland play over songs from an all-female choir from the small village where he was born in Cameroon.

1 hour (short film, discussion + Q&A with Greg Lewis and Eric Ngalle Charles)