A Poet - the Bloom Main Award film of the II. BIFF

The last screening of The Poet, winner of the 2025 BIFF Best Film Award, on January 9th!

Oscar is a university professor in Medellín and although his first two poetry collections published in his youth were successful, he has now gone from being a great hope to a burnt-out poet, his art not bringing him the recognition he had hoped for. As he gets older, he falls deeper into self-pity and self-destruction, living with his elderly mother, while increasingly turning his daughter, ex-wife and friends against him. However, one day he learns of the poems of his student, Yurlady, who comes from a poor background, and he has a new mission to develop the girl's talent, which of course does not turn out exactly as he thought.

In his first film (Amparo, 2021), Simón Mesa Soto told the story of maternal love in the face of violence through the character of a single mother fighting for her conscripted son, while his second film examines the issue of "good fatherhood". It approaches its characters' often highly questionable decisions with irresistible humor, yet without any condescension, even if they come from the most diverse strata of society. In addition, it explores the contrast between free creation and the expectations of the creative industry in a bittersweet tone, questions the superiority of art, and in the process paints a sensitive portrait of a true antihero. With its unpredictable and surprising twists and its impressively fast pace, it stood out in the Un Certain Regard section of this year's Cannes festival, where the film was awarded the Jury Prize.

About the Director

Simón Mesa Soto is a Colombian director, screenwriter and producer. He studied Audiovisual Communication at the University of Antioquia and later pursued a Master’s degree at the London Film School. His thesis film, Leidi, won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival 2014. With his next short film, Mother, he was again selected in the Official Competition of the Cannes Film Festival 2016. Both short films were widely screened at festivals around the world. Amparo, his first feature film, premiered at the Cannes Critics’ Week 2021, where it won the Louis Roederer Foundation Rising Star Award for its lead actress. The film has toured more than fifty film festivals around the world and has won awards in Havana, Chicago, Lima and Punta del Este, among other festivals. Amparo was the big winner of the Colombian Film Academy’s Macondo Awards 2022, winning seven awards including Best Director and Best Film.

Ticket prize: 3900 HUF
Early bird tickets: 3100 HUF

Director: Simón Mesa Soto

Cast: Ubeimar Rios, Rebeca Andrade, Guillerma Cardona, Allison Correa, Margarita Soto, Humberto Restrepo
Cinematography: Juan Sarmiento G.
Screenwriter: Simón Mesa Soto
Producer: Juan Sarmiento G., Manuel Ruiz Montealegre, Simón Mesa Soto
Editor: Ricardo Saraiva
Music: Matti Bye & Trio Ramberget