Colombia Takes Center Stage at Cannes, led by Simón Mesa Soto's ‘A Poet' in Un Certain Regard

Yahoo

15-05-2025

Colombia has a robust presence in Cannes this year, starting with Un Certain Regard entry 'A Poet' ('Un Poeta') by Simón Mesa Soto, whose career trajectory has been linked to Cannes thus far.
He premiered his debut feature 'Amparo' at Cannes Critics' Week in 2021. Prior to that, Mesa Soto, who studied Audiovisual Communications at the University of Antioquia in Colombia and later pursued a Master's degree at the London Film School, won the 2014 Cannes short film Palme d'Or with his thesis short film, 'Leidi,' while his next short film, 'Mother,' was selected to compete in Cannes two years later.
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'A Poet' follows Oscar Restrepo (played by non-pro Ubeimar Rios), whose devotion to poetry has earned him little more than obscurity. Now aging and erratic, he embodies the archetype of the forgotten poet, lost in the shadows. But when he crosses paths with Yurlady (non-pro Rebeca Andrade), a talented teenager from humble origins, he finds new meaning in helping her grow as a poet. However, as he gets more involved in guiding her, he starts to wonder if bringing her into the difficult and uncertain world of poetry is really the best thing for her.
The film shifts tonally between comedy, drama, parody and tragedy—making it, according to Mesa Soto, his most personal work to date.
'As I was finishing my first film, I felt overwhelmed and somewhat disillusioned with filmmaking and art—it's so hard, especially in Colombia. I even considered quitting cinema altogether. I'm also a university professor, so I thought maybe I'd just focus on teaching. I imagined myself in 20 years as a kind of bohemian professor, living off his past, like some of the poet-like teachers I knew in Medellín—eccentric, stuck in a surreal world where they believed they were great artists. That image haunted me. I thought: what if I made a film about the worst version of myself in 20 years if I gave up on cinema?' he says.
Inspired by people in his life, the initial idea was to write and direct a freer, unrestrained kind of film, he says, adding: 'I was drawn to comedy because I wanted to reconnect with the joy of filmmaking—to enjoy the process again. Humor allowed me to laugh at myself as an artist and at the struggles of making art in a country like Colombia. I wanted something without formal constraints, not bound by expectations of what Latin American cinema 'should' be, but open to playing with cinematic language.'
'Those films about writers or poets often seem made for the First World—I wanted to create a version of that from the perspective of Colombia, from this tropical, complex, and unique place,' he muses.
Like many Colombian filmmakers, Mesa Soto tapped the country's film fund, which he says has grown more difficult to access as filmmaking has surged in his country. 'It has grown more competitive as more projects are being made,' he observes. Luxbox handles international sales of the Swedish-Colombian-German co-production.
According to Colombian Film Commissioner Silvia Echeverri, local film production has grown in spades but local box office earnings, which feeds the fund, are down so that has impacted the size of the fund. However, there are incentives for local businesses to invest in film.
Drawn to the country's generous incentives led by the CINA 35% tax rebate on location shoot expenditures and the Colombia Film Fund (FFC), which provides a cash rebate covering 40% of audiovisual services expenses and 20% of logistical costs, more international projects have descended on Colombia. Among them are 'Paddington in Peru' and most recently, 'Shadow Force' with Omar Sy and Kerry Washington and 'Titan,' a Constantin Film-backed survival thriller, produced by 'Resident Evil' franchise producers Jeremy Bolt and Robert Kulzer.
'This year, project execution is going well and is already better than it was at the same time last year. It reflects a clear rebound in the development and consolidation of projects across the country,' says Echeverri.
According to promotional agency Proimágenes, an unprecedented 70+ Colombian films were released last year, but total theater admissions dropped to 45 million, down from 54 million the previous year and well below the pre-COVID peak of 73 million in 2019.
Forty percent of the releases were dramas, followed by documentaries at 36%, with the remainder consisting of comedies, horror, suspense and experimental films.
Reflecting this mix of genres are the films participating in Cannes this year.
Aside from 'A Poet,' Colombia is present in its co-production with France and Brazil, 'Black Snake' ('La Serpiente Negra') by France's Aurélien Vernhes-Lermusiaux, which participates in ACID Cannes.
Set in Colombia's arid Tatacoa Desert, 'Black Snake' follows Ciro, a young man returning home after years away. Reunited with his dying mother, he confronts a land marked by tension and danger. The film explores themes of homecoming, fragile family ties and survival in a hostile landscape.
Participating in the Cannes Doc section is 'We Were a Great Family' (Spain, Colombia) by Cristina Rosselló, Chiara Marañón and Colombian director-editor Juan Soto Taborda. Produced by Catalonian-based Ricard Sales and LaCima Prods., the documentary covers the period between 1941 and 1999 in Spain. In it, the couple Miquelina, Josep, and later their son Pattet, filmed their daily lives, aiming only to preserve memories—yet their footage unwittingly captures the soul of 20th-century Spain: life under Franco, the quiet shift to democracy and a family's evolving hopes, contradictions and dreams through a passing camera.
Rising Colombian talent Juanita Onzaga, a visual artist and filmmaker whose works have been presented at Directors' Fortnight, MOMA in New York, Venice and the Museum of Modern Art in Paris, directs 'Floating with Spirits,' which participates in the Cannes Immersive Selection – Focus which showcases five creations that will give festival-goers new insights into the immersive creative process.
In this VR experience produced by Cassette for Timescapes, Tarantula and Studio Biarritz, Mazatec sisters Jocelynne and Jaquelyne recall their shaman grandmother's ancestral wisdom amid Oaxaca's sacred mountains. As they prepare for the Day of the Dead, spirits return through ritual and memory. Guided by nature and imagination, they unveil the secrets of four spirits, offering a call to reconnect with Indigenous wisdom and the natural world.
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