new wave films
A Poet
A film by Simón Mesa Soto
Synopsis
Óscar Restrepo’s obsession with poetry has brought him no glory. Unemployed and self-destructive, he has succumbed to the cliché of the tortured poet.
After getting a teaching job, he meets Yurlady, a teenage girl with a poetical talent from a marginal family. To help her cultivate her gifts may bring him some redemption. But dragging her into the world of poets may not be the way.
Winner Prix du Jury Un Certain Regard, Cannes 2025
Where It's On
London premiere in aid of Children Change Colombia:
October 10th 18.00 Genesis Cinema, 93-95 Mile End Rd, London E1 4UJ
Trailer
Director — Simón Mesa Soto
Simón Mesa Soto is a Colombian director, screenwriter and producer. He studied Audiovisual Communication at the University of Antioquia and later pursued a Master’s degree at the London Film School. His thesis film, Leidi,
won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival 2014. With his next short film, Mother, he was again selected in the Official Competition of the Cannes Film Festival 2016.
Both short films were widely screened at festivals around the world. Amparo, his first feature film, premiered at the Cannes Critics’ Week 2021, where it won the Louis Roederer Foundation Rising Star Award for the its lead actress. The
film has toured more than fifty film festivals around the world and has won awards in Havana, Chicago, Lima and Punta del Este, among other festivals. Amparo was the big winner of the Colombian Film Academy’s Macondo Awards 2022, winning seven awards including Best Director and Best Film. A Poet is his second feature film.
Filmography
2025 - A POET – Cannes Un Certain Regard
2021 - AMPARO - Cannes Critics’ Week
2016 - MOTHER - Short film Competition Cannes Film Festival 2016
2014 - LEIDI - Cannes Film Festival 2014 - Short Film Palme d’Or
Cast & Credits
| CAST | ||
| Ubeimar Rios | Óscar | |
| Rebeca Andrade | Yurlady | |
| Guillermo Cardona | Efraín | |
| Allison Correa | Daniela | |
| Margarita Soto | Teresita | |
| Humberto Restrepo | Alonso | |
| CREW | ||
| Written & directed by | Simón Mesa Soto | |
| Cinematography | Juan Sarmiento G., ADFC, BVK | |
| Art director | Camila Agudelo | |
| Editor | Ricardo Saravia | |
| Sound | Eloisa Arcila, Ted Krotkiewski | |
| Original Music | Matti Bye, Trio Ramberget | |
| Producers | Juan Sarmiento G., | |
| Manuel Ruiz Montealegre, | ||
| Simón Mesa Soto | ||
| Production | Ocúltimo, | |
| Medio de Contención Producciones | ||
| Co-Producers | Katharina Bergfeld, David Herdies, | |
| Michael Krotkiewski, Heino Deckert, | ||
| Kristina Börjeson | ||
| Co-production | Majade Fiction, | |
| ZDF Das kleine Fernsehspiel, ARTE, | ||
| Momento Film, Film i Väst | ||
| With the support of | Cine Crea Colombia | |
| Swedish Film Institute | ||
| Comisión Fílmica de Medellín | ||
| Colombia / Germany / Sweden 120 mins | ||
| Super 16mm / 4K - Ratio 1:66 - 5.1 |
Images
Click any still to enlarge
The Critics
Murtada Elfadl, Variety
"This remarkable movie..rides its wave of misfit compassion so beautifully because its contradictions...
...creates a wonderfully funny tension."
Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times
"An unforgettable film, one that is both morbidly funny and profoundly human.
William Repass, Slant magazine
"A sharp, prcise satire skewering the hollow obsession with the "tortured artist" lifestyle."
Alissa Wilkinson, The New York Times
"It's visually eloquent and linguistically engaging."
Robert Daniels, RogerEbert.com
Links
Download captioned photos
Download Press Book
Bookings & Press
For film bookings please contact Colin Burch at Verve Pictures — [email protected]. Press resources are on the Press page.