Simón Mesa Soto returns to Cannes with his sophomore film, “Una Poeta (A Poet)” — and this time on the Croisette, it’s personal. Soto, who previously won the Short Film Palme d’Or with his 2014 short film “Leidi” before making his feature debut with “Amparo” during Critic’s Week in 2021, cited “Una Poeta” (in his press notes) as being his biggest statement as an artist to date. “Una Poeta” will premiere during the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes 2025; it was announced as a later addition to the festival, along with Kristen Stewart’s directorial debut “The Chronology of Water” and Pedro Pinho’s “O Riso e a Faca (Le Rire et le Couteau).”
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“Una Poeta” is a satirical drama that centers on struggling poet Oscar Restrepo (Ubeimar Rios), whose obsession with the art of poetry has lulled as he nears middle age, and has “brought him no glory” professionally. The official synopsis reads: “Aging and erratic, he has succumbed to the cliché of the poet in the shadows. Meeting Yurlady (Rebeca Andrade), a teenage girl from humble roots, and helping her cultivate her talent brings some light to his days. But dragging her into the world of poets may not be the way.”
Guillermo Cardona, Allison Correa, Margarita Soto, and Humberto Restrepo also star. The feature was filmed in Medellín with a cast largely made up of non-professionals. Juan Sarmiento is the director of photography, with Soto writing and directing. This is Colombian filmmaker Soto’s first film since winning the Cannes Louis Roederer Foundation Rising Star Award four years prior with “Amparo.”
“Una Poeta” is produced by Soto, Juan Sarmiento G., and Manuel Ruiz Montealegre. Katharina Bergfeld, David Herdies, Michael Krotkiewski, Heino Deckert, and Kristina Börjeson co-produce.
“It’s the most personal project I’ve ever made,” Soto said in a press statement. “It began with an intimate question: what if I failed at art? Making films in Colombia is incredibly difficult, and after my first feature, I considered giving up. I pictured myself at 50, making a living as a teacher — which, in fact, still how I pay the bills — and surviving on idealized memories of a past life in art. I also wanted to explore art from the inside: what it means to create, the limitations it imposes, the compromises it demands. Art is often seen as something noble, but it’s also an industry, even when it’s independent. Cinema, for instance, there’s a market that dictates what audiences expect to see: certain patterns repeat, especially in Latin American cinema. As an artist, you must decide whether to cater to this external demand or question what truly drives you. […] The film grew out of a kind of exhaustion with the machinery of [the industry] and from a longing to make something free, unshaped, with a spirit that felt almost punk.”
“Una Poeta” is a Ocúltimo and Mediode Contención Producciones production out of Colombia. The co-production companies are Majade Fiction, ZDF Das kleine Fernsehspiel in collaboration with ARTE (Germany), Momento Film, and Film i Väst (Sweden).
“Una Poeta” premieres at Cannes Un Certain Regard. Luxbox is handling world sales. Check out the trailer, a IndieWire exclusive, below.
