The Poet Englestrom
A haunting, thought-provoking tale of an eccentric, vagabond poet who traverses Manhattan's streets in search of one good reason to continue making art in violent, troubled times. He awakens each morning in his home, a large cardboard box, parked at the base of the steps of the New York Public Library, ready to start the day reciting his poetry to early morning passersby. His quest begins pushing his red wire shopping cart around the city. He regales students, winos, executives and secretaries with his musings about William Saroyan, ecology and even a violin rendition of “Melancholy Baby.” His poems seem strangely whimsical, but before long, we find them entering into a deeper reality. We are reminded that our universe is in danger of self-destructing. And, 'poets can’t make oxygen!' Obsessed by his passion for Russian poetry and the suicide of his idol, Mayakovsky, he reaches out with wit and passion to the hearts of the people he meets on his journeys in his desperate search for life’s meaning until a chance encounter with one of the greatest forces of nature itself helps him to tap the irrepressible spirit of man which changes everything. Originally written as a solo play by Alexander Weiss in one night, as he was the lion keeper at the San Francisco Zoo, it was adapted for the screen by Weiss, and directed by Francesca Rizzo. “Engleström” is laced with an original, sophisticated, jazz score co-composed and arranged by Executive Producer/Actor, Al Sutton and Fernando Hernandez.
(Official Selection) The Stepping Stone Film Festival, Chennai, India