The film A Poet, directed by Simón Mesa Soto and produced by Ocúltimo and Medio de Contención Producciones (Colombia), in co-production with Majade Fiction (Germany), Momento Film and Film i Väst (Sweden), has been awarded the Jury Prize in the Un Certain Regard section at the Cannes Film Festival. This recognition further solidifies Mesa’s authorial trajectory, whose work has long captured the attention of global cinema.
The award marks a new milestone in Mesa’s career, a decade after he first captivated Cannes with Leidi, his short film that won the Palme d’Or in 2014. Ten years later, he reaffirms his place in world cinema with a work that engages with the great traditions of auteur filmmaking while remaining deeply rooted in Colombian reality.
This is no minor recognition. Over the decades, the Jury Prize has served as a launchpad for filmmakers who now define contemporary cinema:
- Apichatpong Weerasethakul – Memoria (co-produced with Colombia and supported by the Colombia Film Fund - FFC)
- Park Chan-wook – Thirst
- Maïwenn – Polisse
- Hirokazu Kore-eda – Like Father, Like Son
- Xavier Dolan – Mommy
- Jean-Luc Godard – Goodbye to Language
- Yorgos Lanthimos – The Lobster
- Nadine Labaki – Capharnaüm
- Ladj Ly – Les Misérables
- Jacques Audiard – Emilia Pérez
In the words of Simón Mesa Soto:
The film was born out of a kind of exhaustion with the machinery of art and a desire to create something free, unshaped, with a spirit that felt almost punk. It was a way to reconnect with what cinema once meant to me. Rather than portraying myself as a filmmaker, I chose the figure of the poet — because being a poet is, if anything, even more utopian.
Today, Simón Mesa Soto joins this constellation of bold, sensitive, and deeply human voices. A Poet — an intimate, lyrical story exploring desire, writing, and belonging in a Colombian context — not only moved the jury but once again positions Colombia as a breeding ground for cinematic visions that engage the world. On the film’s approach, the director adds:
We wanted to make a film with strong cinematic values, but also one that could make people laugh and feel. We thought a lot about the Colombian audience, our humor, our references. It’s a film that speaks about us — with our contradictions, with love and with critique.
This is not just a personal victory for its director — it’s a clear signal that Colombian stories, voices, accents, and emotional landscapes continue to earn their place on the global cinematic map.
As Silvia Echeverri, Director of the Colombia Film Commission, expressed: We celebrate the Jury Prize awarded at Cannes to Un Poeta, directed by Simón Mesa and produced by Manuel Ruiz. This is yet another example of the immense talent that exists and continues to grow in our country. It reflects the strength of our stories and the quality of the technical and artistic teams who, with their talent and commitment, once again make Colombia’s name resonate across the global audiovisual landscape.”
Because when it comes to talent, vision, and poetry: Colombia, WE HAVE IT.
