Middle-aged and erratic, Oscar is a failed writer who has given up on life. Unemployed and living with family, he wanders the streets of Medellín in a drunken stupor, lamenting the state of literature in his home country, where he has succumbed to the cliché of the tortured artist. However, the opportunity to mentor a young student offers a chance at redemption, if he doesn’t screw it up first. In a performance marked by darkly comic pathos, first-time actor Ubeimar Rios stars in Simón Mesa Soto’s Un Certain Regard Jury Prize-winner A Poet, a raw and riotous farce about how good deeds are often met with the universe’s idea of cruel and unusually poetic punishment.
“Immensely appealing… morbidly funny and profoundly human.” – Ben Croll, IndieWire
“A hilarious fable about trying to lead a creative life… both funny and poignant.” – Murtada Elfadl, Variety
“Simultaneously satisfyingly tragic and hilarious… a compelling performance from non-professional Ubeimar Rios.” – Screen Daily