April is National Poetry Month
Movies to watch on Hoopla and Kanopy in National Poetry Month
Shadowlands (1993)
"Academy Award®-winner Anthony Hopkins stars as famed author C.S. Lewis in this graceful film about his love affair with an American poet, Debra Winger (receiving an Academy Award®-nomination for her stirring performance), whose boldness and zest for life challenges his reserve and literary austerity." - from Hoopla
Available on Hoopla
Blue car (2003)
"Having been abandoned by her father and neglected by her overworked mother, young Meg turns to her English teacher for solace and inspiration. But the safety of what begins as a mentoring friendship turns increasingly complex and ambiguous in this powerful tale of sex and betrayal." - from Hoopla
Available on Hoopla
Shun Li and the Poet (2011)
"The tender friendship between a beautiful Chinese immigrant and a handsome old fisherman is threatened by rumors in a small ventian town." - from Hoopla
In Italian and Mandarin Chinese with English subtitles.
Available on Hoopla and Kanopy.
Set fire to the stars (2014)
"Based on true events, Elijah Wood stars as John Malcolm Brinnin, the New York academic who brought Dylan Thomas to America. ... Part literary biopic and – shot in cut-glass black-and-white – part love-letter to the American B-movies of the Forties and Fifties..." - from Hoopla
Available on Hoopla and Kanopy.
Poetry (2010)
"Mija is a beautiful woman in her sixties who moves gracefully through life, contemplating a trivial daily routine that is ill-suited to her refined persona. On a whim, Mija enrolls in a poetry class at the local cultural center and begins a personal quest to find the perfect words to describe her feelings." - from Hoopla
Available on Hoopla and Kanopy.
A quiet passion (2017)
"Cynthia Nixon personifies the wit, intellectual independence, and pathos of 19th Century American poet Emily Dickinson in this masterful biographical drama from acclaimed director Terence Davies (House of Mirth)." - from Hoopa
Available on Hoopla
Howl (2010)
"James Franco delivers a career defining performance as poet Allen Ginsberg. Through his search for personal and creative expression, Ginsberg writes HOWL, and must contend with attorney Jake Ehrlich (Jon Hamm) during HOWL’S bizarre obscenity trial." - from Hoopla
Available on Hoopla and Kanopy.
Neruda (2016)
"Directed by the award-winning filmmaker Pablo Larrain ("Jackie"), this Golden Globe-nominated film features international star Gael Garcia Bernal as a policeman chasing Pablo Neruda, perhaps the most important poet of the 20th century and a hugely influential political figure." - from Kanopy
In Spanish with English subtitles.
Available on Kanopy
Maya Angelou (2017)
"This film celebrates Dr. Maya Angelou by weaving her words with rare and intimate archival photographs and videos, which paint hidden moments of her exuberant life during some of America's most defining moments." - from Hoopla
Available on Hoopla and Kanopy.
Poetry in motion (1982)
"Called the "Woodstock of Poetry" by American Film, and "Dazzling" by the Los Angeles Times, Poetry in Motion is an unprecedented anthology of twenty-four leading North American poets who sing, chant, anything but "read" their work. The result is a celebration of poetry's ancient oral tradition. And an energetic demonstration that verse is alive and thriving in the media-blitzed age." - from Kanopy
Available on Kanopy
Billy Collins: on the road with the poet laureate
"This 59-minute documentary captures the qualities that make Collins such a refreshing literary figure. With a film crew trailing him from poetry readings and college classrooms to his home, office, and even into his car, he manages to remain amazingly witty, gracious, and open in discussing his life, his work, and the nature of poetry itself. Interviews with distinguished poets and critics Edward Hirsch and Richard Howard, Librarian of Congress Dr. James Billington, and Random House editor Daniel Menaker lend new perspectives on Collins's achievement." - from Kanopy
Available on Kanopy