Nanni Balestrini. Poetry Boy

Overview

Poetry Boy is a documentary portrait of Nanni Balestrini, poet, novelist, visual artist, and one of the most radical voices in postwar Italian culture. Following his death in 2019, director Nina Di Majo travelled across Italy retracing the people, places, and memories that shaped his life and work, assembling a portrait as layered and uncompromising as Balestrini himself. Through archival footage, recordings, photographs, and interviews filmed across Rome, Milan, Paris, and Berlin, the film explores the enduring impact of Balestrini’s artistic and political vision, from Gruppo 63 to the social movements of 1969 and 1977, and the way his work continuously challenged the boundaries between literature, art, and activism. Featuring contributions by Andrea Barzini, Giancarlo De Cataldo, Angelo Guglielmi, Peppe Morra, Gigi Roggero, and Girolamo De Simone.