Leisure, Utopic

Burns in the USA(en)

Robert Burns was well aware of the revolution taking place across the Atlantic as he grew up. The poet was inspired. And America was to be inspired by him. From Abraham Lincoln to Frederick Douglass, and Walt Whitman to Bob Dylan, some of the most significant figures in American politics and culture have cited Burns as an influence.

Jean Sénac, The Blacksmith of the Sun(fr)

By ending the life of Jean Senac on August 30, 1973 in Algiers, his assassins believed they would silence him forever. They were wrong since his voice is a little louder every day. Witnesses to these craze: the publication of the complete works of this great poet, the countless conferences and radio broadcasts devoted to him and finally the production of films such as "Jean Sénac, the blacksmith of the sun". The moving and overwhelming testimonies of those who knew him, the unpublished film archives, the generous voice of the poet on the radio, the discovery of his travels in the territories of poetry and politics make this film a precious document on the life of Jean Senac.

Richard Hugo: Kicking the Loose Gravel Home(en)

Filmed on location in Montana and Washington State, this 1976 biography of poet and teacher Richard Hugo features readings of some of his most famous poems as well as interviews with his family and friends.

Merton: A Film Biography(en)

In his lifetime, Thomas Merton was hailed as a prophet and censured for his outspoken social criticism. For nearly 27 years he was a monk of the austere Trappist order, where he became an eloquent spiritual writer and mystic as well as an anti-war advocate and witness to peace. Merton: A Film Biography provides the first comprehensive look at this remarkable 20th century religious philosopher who wrote, in addition to his immensely popular autobiography The Seven Storey Mountain, over 60 books on some of the most pressing social issues of our time, some of which are excerpted here. Merton offers an engaging profile of a man whose presence in the world touched millions of people and whose words and thoughts continue to have a profound impact and relevance today.

A Land Betrayed(en)

Produced by Alfred Higgins Productions with assistance from the University of Missouri-Columbia’s Academic Support Center Film Library, Keep America Beautiful, Inc., and Keep Los Angeles Beautiful, Inc., the 1963 short film A Land Betrayed examines the various ways people have spread the “cancer of ugliness” across America and offers call-to-action solutions to combat the nation-wide problem.

Nin E Tepueian: My Cry(fr)

NIN E TEPUEIAN - MY CRY is a documentary tracks the journey of Innu poet, actress and activist, Natasha Kanapé Fontaine, at a pivotal time in her career as a committed artist. Santiago Bertolino's camera follows a young Innu poet over the course of a year. A voice rises, inspiration builds; another star finds its place amongst the constellation of contemporary Indigenous literature. A voice of prominent magnitude illuminates the road towards healing and renewal: Natasha Kanapé Fontaine.

Searching for Sam: Adrian Dunbar on Samuel Beckett(en)

Samuel Beckett has fascinated Adrian Dunbar since he was a young student. Now, 30 years after Beckett's death in Paris, Dunbar explores what made the man who made Waiting for Godot.

L'Arbre et le Soleil(fr)

This film is dedicated to Mas-Félipe Delavouët, the poet discovered by Lawrence Durrell, who wrote 14,000 verses in Provençal over a period of thirty years, and who died on November 18, 1990. "The sky, history and Mediterranean and Provençal myths are the inexhaustable wellspring of this man rooted down there, near Salon-de-Provence" (J.-D. Pollet). "Mas-Félipe Delavouët wrote five books in Provençal, 14,000 verses. A sort of "Odyssey". Of myths. What is stunning in him is that he always talks of disappearances. Cities, works, men, writings, television, etc., everything has to disappear. In order to be reborn. No pain. A sort of hand-to-hand of man and nature. During the filming, I would simply throw out some words... For example, one time I said "creation" and he said: "creation doesn't exist..., creation is before me..., I can only read creation"; this sentence describes Delavouët perfectly (J.-D. Pollet, 1989 and 1993).

Trudell(en)

A chronicle of legendary Native American poet/activist John Trudell's travels, spoken word performances, and politics.

Paul Celan: the Poet Who Speaks Humanly(de)

Documentary on the life of the great Romanian-Jewish poet Paul Celan. Tormented by the experiences of the Holocaust, he committed suicide in Paris in 1970 in the Seine. For the first time, the poet's son, Eric Celan, speaks in front of the camera about his father and the difficult life of the family.

I Am Pablo Neruda(en)

Examines the career and literary output of Pablo Neruda, who makes his home at Isla Negra on the coast of Chile. Includes views of Mr. Neruda reading many of his poems in the locales which inspired them.

Victor Hugo, un siècle en révolutions(fr)

All Creatures Welcome(de)

All Creatures Welcome explores the world of hackers and nerds at the events of the Chaos Computer Club, Europe's largest hacker association. The film dispels common clichés and draws a utopian picture of a possible society in the digital age.

Journey of Akaki Tsereteli in Racha-Lechkhumi(ka)

The first Georgian full-length documentary follows the trip of the “king of Georgian poetry”, Akaki Tsereteli, to Racha and Lechkhumi, and his relationships with the people living in the mountainous areas of Western Georgia

Pink Motherland(es)

A documentary about Néstor Perlongher. His life, his poems, and his activism in Argentina's Frente de Liberación Homosexual (homosexual liberation front).

The World of Marcel Proust(fr)

Marcel Proust's "In Search of Lost Time" is one of the great novels of world literature. The documentary immerses itself in the very own cosmos, spanning 3,000 pages and hundreds of characters, for which Proust's own world was the source of inspiration, and brings Proust's moral portrait of the Belle Epoque to new life.

Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man(en)

Poet, singer / songwriter and ladies man Leonard Cohen is interviewed in his home about his life and times. The interview is interspersed with archive photos and exuberant praise and live perfomances from an eclectic mix of musicians, including: Jarvis Cocker, Rufus & Martha Wainwright, Teddy Thompson, ANOHNI, The Handsome Family and U2's Bono and The Edge.

Though You May Not Know(es)

An account of the life and work of the Spanish poet Luis García Montero; a journey through his experiences, his mentors, his influences and his contact with other artists, both from the literary world and from other disciplines.

Nostalgies of the Far West(es)

Short documentary on Chilean poet Jorge Teillier (1935-1996), who comes back to Lautaro, on the south of Chile, the place where he was born.

The Eyes of Dante(it)

He is considered the greatest European poet of the Middle Ages and his work unfolds the whole panopticon of occidental education – theology, philosophy, sciences, politics and literature. But who has really read it, the “Divine Comedy”? Who knows more of its creator Dante Alighieri than that he had an eagle-like profile and was in love with a woman named Beatrice? 700 years after Dante’s death, the filmmaker Adolfo Conti travels through Italy with Dante’s words in mind and eyes to see the world as Dante did. As the film encounters the beauty of arts and the Tuscan landscape, the forces of nature, a dramatic life story is unfolded.