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New York, Jan 27 (EFE)

Colombian filmmaker Simón Mesa Soto premieres his second feature film this week in the United States, ‘Un poeta’ (A Poet), a tragicomedy that unsettles while delving into the concept of art, social classes and failure.

‘A Poet’ (in English) is born from “the worst version” of the director, originally from Medellín, who combines his work in the seventh art with teaching.

“I started thinking about what kind of teacher I would become in 20 years if I gave up this dream of filmmaking. I think I imagined what my worst version would be like,” Mesa explains from his hotel room in the Big Apple in a virtual interview with EFE.

But in the feature film, nominated for Best Ibero-American Film at the Goya Awards, Mesa wanted to move away from his industry and delve into the lives of those poets who grew up in Medellín in the 80s and 90s.

“There were very talented people who gradually fell into that void of bohemianism and who today are 50 or 60-year-old adults living off the glories and dilemmas of the past. It was as if becoming like that was somewhat my destiny,” he emphasizes.

This is how Óscar Restrepo was born, a middle-aged poet who lives in Medellín with his family and remains anchored in the memory of his youth, when he gained recognition with one of his poetry collections.

A tragicomedy that makes you uncomfortable

Although the film explores the nuances of complex themes such as art, social classes, family, and the concept of success, humor is present in most scenes, making ‘A Poet’ a tragicomedy that manages to make the audience uncomfortable.

“I was interested in that idea of ​​being uncomfortable and harsh with what is said and portraying it that way in the film,” Mesa acknowledges, who through comedy was also able to leave aside “that cliché that you have to suffer to create.”

The 40-year-old filmmaker says that audiences have connected with Oscar’s story despite him being an imperfect and complicated protagonist, “perhaps because we all feel his frustration and have had to understand that life takes many turns.”

However, he says that finding funding to tell his story wasn’t easy: “It’s a Colombian comedy, it was hard to see at that time. It was made with a very low budget, very average for an independent film from Colombia.”

From a low budget to being an Oscar nominee

Despite the difficulties, the film was well-received by critics and won awards at several festivals – including San Sebastián – and even became Colombia’s candidate for Best International Feature Film at the Oscars, although it was ultimately not selected by the Academy in the final list of nominees.

“Sometimes it’s reassuring not to be nominated, because there’s something that distances itself from artistic creation in those processes,” Mesa confesses during the interview.

Now, the film takes another step forward and premieres this Friday at the IFC Center in New York and the Laemmle Royal in Los Angeles, with additional releases in Miami, Chicago, San Francisco and Seattle.

Mesa says the United States is like “a dystopia” to him: “Here you feel a bit conflicted. Colombians have always felt a bit dislocated when we leave because we have a very bad reputation in general.”

Regarding the reception from the American public, Mesa says that although when making it he “thought a lot about the Colombian public”, Óscar’s story is “universal” and deals with issues that can also resonate in the North American country.

Therefore, he says he has no expectations and says he is “well served” by the great reception that the story of Óscar Restrepo has had, a poet with lights and shadows who has managed to connect with the public regardless of their gender, origin or profession.