Great Poets: In Their Own Words

A journey into the BBC archives unearthing glorious performances and candid interviews from some of Britain's greatest poets.

2014-08-10 | en

Where are the African Gods?

A moving recording of the late writer and renowned jazz singer Abbey Lincoln is captured in this new film from Brooklyn-born director Rodney Passé, who has previously worked with powerhouse music video director Khalil Joseph. Reading from her own works, Lincoln’s voice sets the tone for a film that explores the African American experience through fathers and their sons.

2018-03-26 | en

Wè

As Black and LGBTQ+ History Month begin this February, material science clothing brand PANGAIA leads celebrations with a poetic film that honors these two communities. Following a year of isolation, and with it a deeper understanding of the importance of outdoor spaces and the environment, Wè is a portrait of the self-love and acceptance we have learned to show others and gift to ourselves.

2021-02-03 | en

Time to Read Poems

The experiences of five free-spirited individuals trying to break free from societal norms. Each narrative discusses creativity, mental health, labor activism and gender politics.

2021-03-25 | ko

Only Ten Percent Is a Lie

The life and literature of Mato Grosso do Sul poet Manoel de Barros. Alternating sequences of interviews with the poet, verses from his poetry, and statements of connoisseurs of his literature, the film portrays a revealing panel of the author's language. Manoel de Barros, age 91, with some 20 books published, lives in Campo Grande. Acknowledged, the winner of several literary prizes, he is the Brazilian writer who accounts for the greatest sale in poetry in Brazil.

2010-01-28 | pt

Where is the Final Destination?

A single tree that has witnessed events, a girl who loves Forough, and a boy who reads Sohrab.

2025-03-28 | fa

Landscape of our Body

As queer trans and gender non-conforming children of the Vietnamese diaspora, we are fragmented at the crossroads of being displaced from not only a sense of belonging to our ancestral land, but also our own bodies which are conditioned by society to stray away from our most authentic existence. Yet these bodies of ours are the vessels we sail to embark on a lifetime voyage of return to our original selves. It is our bodies that navigate the treacherous tides of normative systems that impose themselves on our very being. And it is our bodies that act as community lighthouses for collective liberation. Ultimately, the landscape of our bodies is our blueprint to remembering, to healing, to blooming.

2024-05-24 | vi

TIME

"Time" takes you through the city at night, capturing fleeting moments. With dynamic visuals and an atmospheric soundtrack, this short film explores the nature of existence and memory. Narrated by David Bowie, it invites you to reflect on the passage of time.

2024-06-26 | en

Elsa the Rose

Images and poems of the celebrated couple Louis Aragon and Elsa Triolet. Elsa’s youth as recalled by Aragon, with commentary by Elsa.

1966-10-23 | fr

If it Won’t Hold Water, it Surely Won’t Hold a Goat

"If it Won’t Hold Water, it Surely Won’t Hold a Goat" is an intimate meditation on the subversive nature of goats and their effect on the people who spend time with them. Centered on the story of the legendary Goat Man - a nomadic figure who spent most of his life walking the roads of Georgia with a wagon pulled by a herd of goats - this experimental documentary weaves together an interview with a goat farmer, footage of the daily rituals Johnson enacted with her own herd, and a poem about the Goat Man’s experimental and spectacular life.

2014-01-01 | en

My Mirror is the Door

The ten anthologies and eight long poems of the Sangam age are the oldest and most distinguished body of secular poetry extant in India, of which women poets were a very strong presence.

2012-10-04 | ta

Love Poems Part II: Alexandria

CATS, SEA, FISHERMEN AND SUNSET. The sequel to the original Love Poems. A short documentary Film capturing beautiful shots in the City of Alexandria followed by a Poem written for the city by Salma Torrez.

2025-01-31 | en

O Poeta Americano

The boy runs after the ball. The worker builds concrete dreams between buildings and soccer balls in a lowland field in Recife. The poet receives a word ball, gives a literal stroke and makes an imaginary goal in this film about football, passion and poetry. João Cabral's America goes beyond the four lines of the field or paper, it transcends time and the field; update the memory to the fact that the love of football will not be volatile or ephemeral, neither in defeat nor in victory.

2014-06-17 | pt

Alternate Spaces

A short documentary on the River Ouse, following it downstream from Lewes to Newhaven, meditating on the surrounding area.

2022-12-15 | en

Sobre Nós

2025-07-03 | pt

The King’s Poem

The story of a young Saudi poet who receives the prestigious title The Prince of Poets (Amir Al-Shu’ara), and is later nominated to recite a welcome poem before King Salman. However, one word would render this festive evening into a nightmare.

| ar

unbroken rhythms

a poem. trees. fragments of fritz. love—and nothing besides!

2024-01-16 | en

Pássaro Transparente

A poet and his walk through a future of the dystopian present.

2017-01-05 | pt

Hermes Bird

This 11 minute homage to the male member shows its subject in the various stages of erection. The voice-over poem by James Broughton includes the line "This is the secret that will not stay hidden."

1979-03-21 | en

O Maior Trem do Mundo

2019-01-31 | pt