Oscar is an aging, rueful poet whose artistic ambitions have long faded into obscurity and heavy drinking. When Oscar takes up teaching to meet ends meet, he encounters Yurlady, a working-class girl with an extraordinary gift for poetry, he becomes consumed with launching her talent into the local literary scene. Driven by a desperate longing for career redemption and a second chance at fatherhood, Oscar inadvertently pushes her into an ambitious world she never asked to join.
Directed by Simón Mesa Soto, this tragicomedy earned the Un Certain Regard Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival and represented Colombia as its official submission for Best International Feature Film. Anchored by a brilliant, cringe-inducing performance from Ubeimar Rios, the film offers a darkly funny and deeply humane satire on artist egos and the messy search for purpose.
A Poet, A Creative, A Panel
Join us for a post-show fireside chat on Tue 6 Oct, 7.30pm!
Do you dream of writing your story one day? Of writing novels, poetry, or making films?
Do you want to support those dreamers around us to do so?
It isn’t easy being an artist anywhere, especially not outside major commercial systems like America, the UK, and Hollywood. And though A POET comes from halfway across the world, our creative industries are really not so different. So why make the admirably Herculean task of creating any harder by keeping career wisdom behind closed doors (or gates), or by having to struggle alone? And if you care about local voices, then how can we best support our artists?
Join us for a fireside chat with a local poet, Theophilus Kwek, and filmmaker, Pek Jia Hao, as they share with us their uncensored stories, tips and tricks, and dreams for the creative life in Singapore.
In Spanish with English subtitles.
Rated M18 for Nudity.
On a quiet summer holiday at a Turkish resort in the late 1990s, 11-year-old Sophie spends precious days with her loving, idealistic father, Calum. Decades later, an adult Sophie revisits home video footage and fragmented memories from the trip, attempting to reconcile the father she remembered with the personal struggles he kept hidden from view.
Charlotte Wells’ remarkable debut feature earned Paul Mescal an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor alongside the French Touch Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. A deeply felt portrait of memory, grief, and parental love, the film pairs subtle visual storytelling with remarkable central performances that linger long after the credits roll.
In English.
Rated M18 for Mature Content.
TW: Contains scenes with flashing lights, photosensitive audiences are advised.
Hirayama works as a cleaner of public toilets in Tokyo, leading a quiet, contentment-driven life structured around classic rock cassettes, secondhand books, and photographing the light filtering through urban trees. As small, unexpected encounters break his daily routine, quiet details of his past gradually come to light.
Directed by Wim Wenders, this Oscar nominee for Best International Feature earned Kōji Yakusho the Best Actor prize at the Cannes Film Festival. Celebrating the dignity of labor and the art of mindfulness, the film offers a warm, contemplative, and visually striking observation of contemporary Tokyo.
In Japanese with English subitles.
Rated PG for Brief Nudity
When a man falls to his death from a remote chalet in the French Alps, his wife—a successful German novelist—becomes the prime suspect in a murder trial. With no direct witnesses other than their visually impaired young son, the courtroom proceedings gradually shift from analyzing physical evidence to dissecting the private fractures of their marriage.
Winner of the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival and the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, Justine Triet’s psychological drama is a masterclass in narrative tension and moral ambiguity. Powered by a commanding performance from Sandra Hüller, it is a sharp, provocative examination of truth, perspective, and relationship dynamics.
In French and English with English subtitles.
Rated NC16 for Some Mature References.
TW: Contains scene(s) of animal abuse.
