Sylvia Plath reading poems from Ariel

Dash Snow rejected a life of privilege to make his own way as an artist on the streets of downtown New York City in the late 1990s. Developing from a notorious graffiti tagger into an international art star, he documented his drug- and alcohol-fueled nights with the surrogate family he formed with friends and fellow artists Ryan McGinley and Dan Colen before his death by heroin overdose in 2009. Drawing from Snow’s unforgettable body of work and involving archival footage, Cheryl Dunn’s exceptional portrait captures his all-too-brief life of reckless excess and creativity.

A boy posts a message on the Internet seeking a suicide partner. A girl reads it and flies to meet him one week later. Together they jump off a 600-meter cliff. They found each other on an Internet newsgroup called alt.suicide.holiday, or ASH. Internet newsgroups are virtual discussion forums amongst people with common interests. The subject of this one is suicide. You come across thousands of letters. The unknown leave behind their open hearted life stories for us to read. Who are these people and why are they seeking each other on the Internet? What lives lay hidden behind the blue light of the computers. In ASH worlwide suicide we meet four writers of this newsgroup.

In an extended panoramic view—an "audioscopy" of Algiers—the camera’s eye scrutinizes various buildings and city-center neighborhoods with an intimate approach. "I want to show Algerian society’s openness to the world and to modern means... as well as its contradictions regarding tradition." One might think that filming is merely about capturing images; yet for Hassen Ferhani, filming is first and foremost about welcoming presences—allowing the world to emerge with all its density, fragility, and silences. He does not frame to confine, but to liberate; he frames to offer a space where people, gestures, and voices can find their true rhythm. This kind of cinema dictates nothing: it stands back—attentive and open—allowing itself to be surprised by the most unpredictable aspects of reality, and it is in this act of letting go that beauty is born.

"I'll try to just put it as briefly as I can and as clearly as I can. This planet is about to be recycled, refurbished, started over. That doesn't mean it's going to be destroyed, it doesn't mean it's the end of the world. But it does mean that it is going to be spaded under. Now, you can say, "Well, who are you to say that?" And I'll tell you who I am. As to whether or not you believe who I am is up to you. And whether or not you believe that this civilization is going to be recycled or refurbished is up to you. Now, the purpose of this tape is to warn you that this is about to happen, and that it's going to happen very soon."

This American Experience tells Whitman's life story, from his working-class childhood in Long Island, to his years as a newspaper reporter in Brooklyn when he struggled to support his impoverished family, then to his reckless pursuit of the attention and affection he craved for his work, to his death in 1892.

Hilmano van Velzen, the "Homeless Poet" wants nothing more than to become famous with his poetry. But his addiction and character get in the way.

A visit to the extravagant house where Victor Hugo spent his exile in Guernsey between 1855 and 1870, the Hauteville House, entirely designed by the writer. This documentary also looks at a little-known aspect of Hugo: his talents as a decorator, architect and designer.

Al Khadra is a renowned Sahrawi war poetess living in the al-Auin camp in the Algerian desert. A vivid testament to 30 years of the Sahara conflict, we see how she keeps her oral poetry alive and tries to pass on her activism to the next generation.

Musicians inspired by the Moon. Since the Apollo landings, the Moon has entered popular consciousness like never before. A journey through pop music's lunar obsession.

A poetic journey about the life and work of Puerto Rican poet Julia de Burgos.

Through dramatization and interviews with her colleagues, this film captures the life and work of famed Puerto Rican poet Mercedes Negrón Muñoz (also known as Clara Lair).

When asked a question on politics, late Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish once answered: “I write about love to expose the conditions that don’t allow me to write about love.” In TWO TRAVELERS TO A RIVER Palestinian actress Manal Khader recites such a poem by Mahmoud Darwish: a concise reflection on how things could have been.

A fake-diary film from memories of the time I couldn’t remember, using only the traces I could recall.

More than 50% of transgender boys have attempted suicide. Through two life stories, directors Lexie and Logan unravel why their community is particularly vulnerable to living and dying quietly.

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.

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.

As a teenager in the '90s, Soleil Moon Frye carried a video camera everywhere she went. She documented hundreds of hours of footage and then locked it away for over 20 years.

Michael Strunge and other young Danish poets, accompanied by images of night-time Copenhagen.

Follows dub poet master Linton Kwesi Johnson out of the recording studio onto the Brixton streets.

Básnik Pavol Ušák Oliva