The essential word

Anna Akhmatova (1889-1966) - Muse of Keening

2011

A short film by Barry Lowe and Dino Mahoney, starring Pauline Burton as Anna. The film is an introduction to the great Soviet era modernist poet, Anna Akhmatova; shot in winter in Saint Petersburg (Leningrad), it contains rare interviews with people who knew her, academics, and dramatized readings of some of her poems.

Cure for Loneliness

2026

A love letter to cinema and a personal reflection on loneliness. Segment from Fringe Hippo's anthology film "Elegy Apokalypto".

Inger Christensen - The cicadas exist

1998 · ★ 9

In this portrait film, we meet Inger Christensen in her apartment in Østerbro, Copenhagen, where she tells of her life and work, and reads excerpts from her major works.

Richard Hugo: Kicking the Loose Gravel Home

1976

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.

I Place You Into the Fire

2024

Combining the authenticity of Indigenous writer Rebecca Thomas' narrative, the power of poetry, and stunning animation, "I Place You into the Fire" invites viewers to consider their roles in fostering understanding, compassion and justice.

The Fall: The Wonderful and Frightening World of Mark E. Smith

2005 · ★ 5.6

A 1-hour Documentary looking at the Manchester post-punk group and its infamous leader Mark E Smith. The Film follows the current band recording their final Session for the John Peel Show (they were his favourite group and recorded more sessions than any other band) as well as chronicling the chaotic history of the band & its numerous line-up changes.

Song of Myself (Section 51)

In Song of Myself (Section 51) we meet Thomas Michael Smith- a retired social worker, sign language interpreter, openly gay deacon in the Catholic church, and part time drag queen. Over a tour of his space, he shares what life containing multitudes looks like for him.

Song

2014

Song is a story of the last Finnish rune singer and his pupil, and the comforting power of singing.

Fried Shoes Cooked Diamonds

1979 · ★ 7.7

After World War II a group of young writers, outsiders and friends who were disillusioned by the pursuit of the American dream met in New York City. Associated through mutual friendships, these cultural dissidents looked for new ways and means to express themselves. Soon their writings found an audience and the American media took notice, dubbing them the Beat Generation. Members of this group included writers Jack Kerouac, William Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg. a trinity that would ultimately influence the works of others during that era, including the "hippie" movement of the '60s. In this 55-minute video narrated by Allen Ginsberg, members of the Beat Generation (including the aforementioned Burroughs, Anne Waldman, Peter Orlovsky, Amiri Baraka, Diane Di Prima, and Timothy Leary) are reunited at Naropa University in Boulder, CO during the late 1970's to share their works and influence a new generation of young American bohemians.

These Heathen Dreams

2014 · ★ 3

Once described by the press as "one of the most controversial figures on the Australian art scene", avant-garde poet and playwright Christopher Barnett achieved a level of notoriety in the Melbourne underground theatre scene during the ‘70s and ‘80s, before self-exiling to France. He remains there today, running an experimental theatre lab working with the marginalised and underprivileged, applauded by the establishment (including former French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault) and faithful to his belief that art can change the world. These Heathen Dreams is an intimate portrait of Barnett's life and revolutionary philosophy. Combining archival footage dating back to the ‘60s with contemporary observational documentation and text from Barnett's writings, it is a poignant and inspiring study of the power of both art and political activism.

Hello My Dear

2021 · ★ 7.5

The documentary is titled after Arkadaş Z. Özger’s poem “Hello My Dear” which had caused much controversy in the period it was first published. Considered to be in defiance of heteronormativity, the said poem includes references to the poet’s personality, his family, his relationship to the society, and his “unexpected” death, which came three years after its publication. Today, 50 years after it was written, the documentary follows these same lines in the poem utilising cinematic elements. The documentary also rediscovers the poetics; reaches out to the family, the comrades, the friendships, departing from the official historical accounts, cognizant of his experience of otherness, in pursuit of the “lost” portrait of Arkadaş Z. Özger.

The Music of Life

2009

Eldar Ryazanov reads his poetry. An introspective movie on his multifaceted work.