Sales agency Luxbox has boarded Simón Mesa Soto’s “A Poet,” which has been selected to world premiere in the Un Certain Regard section of Cannes Film Festival.
The drama, shot in Medellin, Colombia, follows Oscar Restrepo, whose obsession with poetry has brought him no glory. Aging and erratic, he has succumbed to the cliché of the poet in the shadows. Meeting Yurlady, a teenage girl from humble roots, and helping her cultivate her talent brings some light to his days. But dragging her into the world of poets may not be the way.
“A Poet” is Mesa Soto’s second feature film after “Amparo,” which was presented at Cannes Critics’ Week in 2021 and won the Louis Roedered Foundation Rising Star Award for the actress Sandra Melissa Torres.
Both his short films, “Mother” (2016) and “Leidi” (2014), competed in Cannes and “Leidi” won the short film Palme d’Or.
The producers on “A Poet” are Juan Sarmiento G. and Simón Mesa Soto at Ocúltimo in Colombia; and Manuel Ruiz Montealegre at Medio de Contención Producciones in Colombia. Sarmiento G. is also the film’s cinematographer.
The coproducers are Katharina Bergfeld, Heino Deckert (Majade Fiction, Germany); David Herdies, Michael Krotkiewski (Momento Film, Sweden); Film I Väst (Sweden); and ZDF Das kleine Fernsehspiel/ARTE (Germany).
The cast is led by Ubeimar Rios, Rebeca Andrade and Guillermo Cardona.
Luxbox’s CEO Fiorella Moretti and head of international sales Jennyfer Gautier in a joint statement said: “We felt instantly struck by the singular vision of the director and the beauty in the film. ‘A Poet’ is bold, intimate, and quietly subversive. The film navigates contemporary and deeply human themes with a touch of lightness and unexpected humor. We were especially drawn to how it explores the desire to create, and how its central character finds glimmers of hope in an often unforgiving world.”
Sarmiento G. said: “Simon’s vision is unique, sarcastic and uncompromising, he tackles a wide variety of subjects and is unafraid of approaching them with a sense of humor and tragedy alike. We look forward to be premiering Simon’s latest work in Cannes’ official selection once again.”
Soto said: “Luxbox has an amazing catalog of amazing films and they carefully handpicked just a few each year so that they can devote all their efforts to them. We want our film to be seen by many and I believe Fiorella and her team will help us reach a wider audience.”
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