Gift of the Sloth is a film by Swoon for Debbie Lim’s commended poem in the National Poetry Competition 2013, commissioned by Filmpoem and Felix Poetry Festival in association with the Poetry Society.
From the National Poetry Competition judges: ‘Alongside the authority of this poem’s delivery, we loved its gentle humour, and the way the sloth is so convincingly realised. This is a creature whose presence lingers long after the poem has finished – the sightless buttons of its eyes, its toenails curved as a Balinese dancer’s, the soft pendulum of its body. The gift of this poem is that the author has rescued the word ‘sloth’ and cast it in an entirely fresh light.’ {Julia Copus}