1-2 Special announces the U.S. theatrical release of A Poet / Un poeta, Simón Mesa Soto’s darkly comic and caustic second feature and winner of the Un Certain Regard Jury Prize at Cannes and nominated for Best International Film at the Independent Spirit Awards.
From the Palme d’Or–winning director behind the short film Leidi, the film opens Friday, January 30, at IFC Center in New York City and the Laemmle Royal in Los Angeles, with additional U.S. cities to follow, including Miami, Chicago, San Francisco, and Seattle. Mesa Soto will appear in person for select Q&A sessions in New York and Los Angeles.
Colombia's official submission for Best International Feature at the 98th Academy Awards has been a favorite on the festival circuit, receiving multiple awards including Horizontes Latinos at San Sebastián, Best Film at Budapest and El Gouna, Best Narrative Feature at Philadelphia, Bright Horizons at Melbourne, and Lima’s Special Jury Prize, Best Actor, and Best Cinematography.
A Poet tells the story of Oscar, a middle-aged, erratic failed writer who has given up on life. Unemployed and living with his family, he wanders the streets of Medellín in a drunken stupor, lamenting the state of literature in his home country and embodying the cliché of the tortured artist. However, the opportunity to mentor a young student offers a chance at redemption—if he doesn’t screw it up first.
In a performance marked by darkly comic pathos, first-time actor Ubeimar Rios stars in this raw and riotous farce about how good deeds are often met with the universe’s idea of cruel and unusually poetic punishment.
A Poet marks a sharp and uncompromising return for Mesa Soto, cementing his place as one of the most singular voices in contemporary Latin American cinema. With corrosive humor and an unflinching gaze, the film delivers a bracing portrait of artistic failure, moral ambiguity, and the precarious chance at redemption.
