Great Poets: In Their Own Words

Bert Schierbeek/The Door

January 1973 •Dutch

A short portrait of poet Bert Schierbeek, who reads from his poetry.

Change Itself – An Art Apart: Genesis Breyer P-Orridge

August 2016 •English

To sum up the life and work of British artist Genesis Breyer P-Orridge is close to impossible. Not only because of the wide range of artistic disciplines, but also because of the timespan, since the mid 1960s to the present day, that has been saturated by hundreds of records, thousands of concerts, exhibitions, interviews, videos, spoken word performances, collages, sculptures, philosophy, cultural engineering, occultism and radical transgender concepts. A couple of descriptions are still valid after these 50 years of active creativity and provocation. P-Orridge is a romantic existentialist and a cultural engineer. Everything is both work as such and seed for cultural and behavioural change.

Do Útero Ao Túmulo

December 2022 •Portuguese

Mirror

March 1975 •Russian

A dying man in his forties recalls his childhood, his mother, the war and personal moments that tell of and juxtapose pivotal moments in Soviet history with daily life.

unbroken rhythms

January 2024 •English

poem. trees. fragments. fritz. movement.

Uxío Novoneyra: Poeta/Alén

January 2012 •Galician

This documentary shows the life and work of the Galician poet from O Courel, Uxío Novoneyra, from a double perspective: the intimate and familiar analysis of his work, both poetic and artistic, and that of his ideological commitment, and a reinterpretation of a selection of his poems for signify the living mode of his verses. The documentary is directed by one of his sons, Uxío Novo Rey, and different artists, biographers, politicians and neighbors collaborate in it, showing the different aspects of the poet, from his origins, the life of the Courel, the Brais Pinto group, the thought politics and even the Galician language. The story establishes a parallelism with the most outstanding events that have occurred in Galicia and in the world in the second half of the 20th century and how the poet was affected by these events.

The Marvellous World of Roald Dahl

August 2016 •English

Fighter pilot, inventor, spy - the life of Roald Dahl is often stranger than fiction. Through a vast collection of his letters, writings and archive, the story is told largely in his own words with contributions from his last wife Liccy, daughter Lucy and biographer Donald Sturrock.

Alternate Spaces

December 2022 •English

A short documentary on the River Ouse, following it downstream from Lewes to Newhaven, meditating on the surrounding area.

Beloved Sisters

July 2014 •German

A love triangle forms between post-Enlightenment writer Friedrich Schiller and two sisters -- one who became his wife, and the other, his biographer.

Wood Mountain Poems

January 1978 •English

In this short documentary, Canadian poet Andrew Suknaski introduces us to Wood Mountain, the south central Saskatchewan village he calls home. In between musings on his poetry, which is tinged with nostalgia and the vast loneliness of the plains, the poet discusses the area’s multicultural background and Native heritage, as well as the customs and stories of these various ethnic groups.

Wild Women

November 2022 •French

At the beginning of winter, a filmmaker retires for six months to a hermit's cabin in the middle of the forest, cut off from the world and its means of communication. Through the words of four women she has filmed previously, all of whom have dedicated their lives to different forms of spirituality, she embarks on a mysterious inner adventure, on the edge of solitude and nature. A journey that invites us to connect with the world in a different way.

The Honourable Rebel

December 2015 •English

A docu-drama about the life of the Hon. Elizabeth Montagu, a spy, screenwriter and worker in British cinema for Alexander Korda.

Khamsin

January 2019 •French

Lebanon today. The traces of the civil war are all too tangible as government corruption becomes unbearable. In a country where conflict and peace are caught in an endless cycle, musicians from different backgrounds pool their talents to create an underground music scene. Each evokes his or her representation of Lebanon: its shifting geographical, political, historical and social borders, its painful passage through conflict and instability. A touching portrait of a young generation trying to build an oasis in a hostile environment where the forces of destruction continue to wreak havoc.

Listen If It's Raining...

November 1999 •Russian

Follows the present and past, and in a surreal environment where the motifs of Kazakov’s stories intersect. The hero can easily meet with Stalin or drink vodka with a homeless person in the basement.

Gregório de Mattos

February 2003 •Portuguese

The life of irreverent poet Gregório de Mattos, who lived in Bahia, Brazil, in the 17th century. Nicknamed Mouth of Hell, he used his transgressive poetry against the élite of the time.

The Doors

March 1991 •English

The story of the famous and influential 1960s rock band and its lead singer and composer, Jim Morrison.

Frost/Nixon

October 2008 •English

For three years after being forced from office, Nixon remained silent. But in summer 1977, the steely, cunning former commander-in-chief agreed to sit for one all-inclusive interview to confront the questions of his time in office and the Watergate scandal that ended his presidency. Nixon surprised everyone in selecting Frost as his televised confessor, intending to easily outfox the breezy British showman and secure a place in the hearts and minds of Americans. Likewise, Frost's team harboured doubts about their boss's ability to hold his own. But as the cameras rolled, a charged battle of wits resulted.

BURNING OUT

November 2022 •Russian

A short film, based on a series of poems, about childhood, the break with parental, and war.

Paul Monette: The Brink of Summer's End

January 1997 •English

Narrated by Linda Hunt, this documentary examines the life of the late author and gay rights activist Paul Monette. Born in 1945 to a well-off Massachusetts family, Monette grows up unable to accept his homosexuality, for years hiding it from his loved ones while struggling to develop as a writer. In 1978, Monette publishes his first novel, which allows him to come out to his parents. After losing one lover to AIDS in 1986, he becomes a ferocious advocate for awareness of the disease.

Alexander Pope: Rediscovering a Genius

October 2021 •English

Docudrama that recounts the astonishing life story of a forgotten genius, English poet Alexander Pope, who lived from 1688 to 1744.