A Poet Un poeta
Synopsis
Oscar, an aging wannabe poet who never quite broke through, is past his prime. He drinks too much, his relationship with his daughter is in dire straits, he has no career prospects, and he is living with his mother. He takes a teaching job at a high school in hopes of putting his life back together. There he meets Yurlady, a promising poet from a lower-class family whose writing captures his attention. Attempting to redeem himself both personally and professionally, he decides to take her under his wing and mentor her through a program for talented young writers. Yurlady’s writing is met with instant acclaim, and she’s hastily shepherded into the spotlight—but when the attention proves too much for her, the situation begins to spiral out of Oscar’s control.
At once an honest portrait of ambition and failure and a farcical sendup of institutional exploitation, A Poet thoughtfully dissects the class and power dynamics at play in the arts world.
Screenings & Events
There are currently no upcoming screenings of this film.
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Media
Film Credits
- Juan Sarmiento G., Manuel Ruiz Montealegre, Simón Mesa Soto
- Simón Mesa Soto
- Ricardo Saraiva
- Juan Sarmiento G.
- Ubeimar Rios, Rebeca Andrade, Guillermo Cardona, Allison Correa, Margarita Soto, Humberto Restrepo
- Matti Bye, Trio Ramberget
- Ocúltimo, Medio de Contención Producciones
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The President’s Cake
Synopsis
Witty, playful, and profoundly moving, The President’s Cake is a story of struggle and survival under Saddam Hussein’s sanctioned Iraq. Though the country is suffering massive food shortages, a decree is sent across the nation: the President requires a cake from every school to celebrate his birthday. Despite desperately trying not to be chosen, unlucky nine-year-old Lamia is selected for baking duty, even though she’s too poor to afford the ingredients.
Setting out on a daylong odyssey from her provincial home to a nearby town with her beloved rooster Hindi in tow, Lamia is forced to use her imagination and get creative as she attempts to whip up the obligatory confection. With a keen eye for period detail and a winning performance from newcomer Baneen Ahmed Nayyef as Lamia, The President’s Cake offers an astonishing child’s-eye view of the hardships of living in 1990s Iraq.
Screenings & Events
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Film Credits
- Leah Chen Baker
- Hasan Hadi
- Andu Radu
- Tudor Vladimir Panduru RSC
- Baneen Ahmed Nayyef, Sajad Mohamad Qasem, Waheeda Thabet Khreibat, Rahim AlHaj
- TPC Film LLC
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Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk
Synopsis
Driven to document the war in Gaza, filmmaker and Festival alum Sepideh Farsi (2014’s Red Rose) tries to enter the region. Blocked at the border, Farsi strikes up a relationship via cellphone with a bright-eyed young Palestinian photographer and poet named Fatma Hassona, who is holed up in her bombed-out neighborhood. Through a series of intimate video conversations, by turns lighthearted and heartbreaking, Sepideh and Fatma grow closer despite the layers of screens between them, even as the conditions around Fatma become increasingly dire.
Mirroring in its construction the distance between Gaza and the rest of the world, this cleverly conceived Cannes Film Festival stunner also subtly explores potent contrasts between the two women: the Iranian filmmaker’s world travels and her long life in exile vs. Fatma’s isolation, entrapment, and dreams of escape. As weeks turn to months, the film chronicles their deepening relationship, becoming a compassionate portrait of a life under siege that celebrates the remarkable fortitude of the Palestinian people.
Screenings & Events
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Media
Film Credits
- Javad Djavahery, Annie Ohayon-Dekel
- Sepideh Farsi
- Sepideh Farsi
- Fatma Hassona
- Rêves d'Eau Productions
Sponsors
Program Partner
Program Patron
Cynthia Stone Raskin
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The Reckoning of Erin Morrigan
Synopsis
In a remote safe house on the Northern Irish border, former IRA operative Erin Morrigan lives in isolation. Dying of cancer, she self-medicates with homemade opiates and alcohol, all the while tormented by hallucinatory flashbacks of her past spent interrogating and killing suspected informers. But when a teenage fugitive turns up on her doorstep seeking refuge, her solitude is interrupted. As the reluctant pair confide in one another, the boy, who bears a striking resemblance to a man she once loved and condemned, becomes Erin’s confessor and witness to her reckoning with the demons of her past.
A haunting reflection on the echoes of history, the debut feature from Gabrielle Russell grapples with the complexities of loyalty and truth during Ireland’s Troubles. Celebrated Irish actress Olwen Fouéré masterfully embodies a woman at the edge of her life, who confronts her conscience head-on in the wake of the horrors of war and grasps for the smallest hope of redemption.
Screenings & Events
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Media
Film Credits
- Laura Torenbeek
- Gabrielle Russell
- Hoping Chen
- Tunji Akinsehinwa, Steve Wyatt
- Olwen Fouéré, Jake Doyle, Aidan O'Callagan, Ciara Ivie, Muireann Gallen
- Birger Clausen
- Green Film Productions
- https://www.greenfilmproductions.co.uk/erin-morrigan
Sponsors
With support from
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Reedland Rietland
Synopsis
Johan lives a quiet and reclusive life on his farm, cutting reeds in the Dutch lowlands and caring for his granddaughter. His world is shaken when he comes upon the lifeless body of a young woman on his property. While the mysterious tragedy stirs up conflicts and tensions between neighboring factions in the community, Johan senses a presence much more sinister lurking in the marshlands.
An atmospheric character study of both the reed-cutter and the land itself, Sven Bresser’s simmering debut breathes vivid life into the landscape—a beautiful yet foreboding wild that harbors secrets among the labyrinth of reeds. These secrets give way to a void of pervasive darkness that lies just below the surface of the everyday.
Screenings & Events
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Media
Film Credits
- Marleen Slot
- Sven Bresser
- Lot Rossmark
- Sam du Pon, NSC
- Gerrit Knobbe, Loïs Reinders
- Mitchel Van Dinther, Lyckle de Jong
- Viking Film
- https://www.thepartysales.com/movie/reedland/
Sponsors
Program Patron
Robert and Penelope Steiner Family Foundation
With support from
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