Fried Shoes Cooked Diamonds

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.

1979-10-01 | en

I Place You Into the Fire

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.

2024-02-10 | en

Hold on Tight

A short documentary exploring the ways LGBT couples show affection, and how small interactions like holding hands in public can carry, not only huge personal significance, but also the power to create social change.

2011-07-28 | en

No Regret

Five gay Black men who are HIV-positive discuss how they are battling the double stigmas surrounding their infection and homosexuality.

1993-06-25 | en

Shut Up and Say Something

Canadian icon Shane Koyczan has brought his spoken word poetry to stages all over the world, including TED Talks that have gone viral and the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. This documentary, both an introduction to his poetry and an exploration of his relationships with those around him, highlights his journey of seeking reconciliation with his father who abandoned him at an early age, and how in order to accomplish this, Koyczan has to rely on his poetry's vulnerability like never before.

2017-09-23 | en

Novena

In 2012, Stephen Vaughan and Kay Ferreter are invited to address the congregation at St. Joseph's Redemptorists Church in Dundalk, Ireland for the Solemn Novena Festival. In a powerful speech, the pair describe their experiences being gay and lesbian in Ireland, feeling excluded by Catholic doctrine, and the importance of a more inclusive church.

2013-08-14 | en

This Beggar's Description

It's a sensitive, moving doc chronicling the life of Tétrault's brother Philip , a Montreal poet, musician and diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic. A promising athlete as a child, Philip began experiencing mood swings in his early 20s. His extended family, including his daughter, share their conflicted feelings love, guilt, shame, anger with the camera. They want to make sure he's safe, but how much can they take?

2006-07-19 | en

Miguel Ramón Utrera

Documentary about the poet Miguel Ramón Utrera.

1991-01-01 | es

Manic Magic: a Poem in Four Parts

A poem about mania written by Omar Zefier. His second film.

2025-02-04 | en

Perry Como's Irish Christmas

Perry Como's last great concert special, filmed in Ireland and screened in 1994. Como appears before an audience of 4,500 in Ireland's celebrated Point Theater, with Irish President Mary Robinson and actress Maureen O'Hara in attendance.

1994-12-01 | en

Ordinary Things

A short documentary about everyday objects, the people who used them, and the beauty of that use. From the video description: "An encounter with the past. The introductory film for visitors to the National Museum of Ireland (NMI) - Country Life. It tells a story about Irish traditional folk life, the self-sufficiency and community spirit by which people's lives were played out against a challenging physical environment. That environment quite often dictated the materials, crafts and traditions by which lives were lived. The museum's collection of 'ordinary things', on display in Turlough Park, illustrate these stories." Written and narrated by Irish writer and broadcaster Theo Dorgan. Made in association with the NMI — Country Life. Available online on the Youtube channel of the NMI — Country Life: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCYrq8yWSSQ

2001-01-01 | en

A Fanatic Heart: Geldof On Yeats

A biography of the poet W. B. Yeats and his contribution to the Irish independence movement as a Protestant nationalist.

2016-04-03 | en

Fernanda Pivano: A Farewell to Beat

2001-10-22 | it

Conor McGregor: Notorious

Conor McGregor is the biggest star in the history of Mixed Martial Arts. Filmed over the course of 4 years, Notorious is the exclusive, all-access account of Conor’s meteoric rise from claiming benefits and living in his parents' spare room in Dublin to claiming multiple championship UFC belts and seven figure pay-packets in Las Vegas.

2017-11-03 | en

Jean Genet: Saint, martyr et poète

Poetic stroll in the work of Jean Genet.

1975-07-07 | fr

The Music of Life

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

2009-12-01 | ru

Anna Akhmatova (1889-1966) - Muse of Keening

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.

2011-11-27 | en

Inger Christensen - The cicadas exist

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.

1998-03-09 | da

Hello My Dear

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.

2021-05-01 | tr

The Language of Trees

An exploration on Paz's poetry by Paz himself, his childhood, his ideas about love and the nature of art

1983-01-01 | es