A POET ON THE FRONTLINE is a documentary portrait of Ryszard Kapuscinski, the famous daredevil war correspondent, and one of the worlds most important contemporary literary figures. Known as Indiana Jones with a notepad, Kapuscinski is a legend among his peers. He has been looking for the truths of human experience in the most dangerous places.
Filmmaker Gabrielle Pfeiffer traveled with Kapuscinski to four countries, capturing his true character, his passion, his humor and his demons. Exclusive footage documents Kapuscinskis emotional homecoming to Pinsk (Belarus), the town of his birth that he was forced to flee as a child, and forbidden to visit for over 40 years. This trip includes visits to many of the sites referred to in Kapuscinskis book, Imperium. Kapuscinski and his friends and colleagues also discuss the writers challenges when faced with censorship, and reportage as a literary form.
Ms. Pfeiffers film interweaves Kapuscinski's childhood as a refugee in Poland during the Second World War, with his later experiences on the battlefields of the Third World, in a poetic reverie of the tragedy and the absurdity of war.
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