Director, Script: Peter Kubelka

Releasing Poetry and Truth, said Peter Kubelka, required some courage. A great many people who think highly of his previous film oeuvre could have been disappointed. The filmmaker himself claimed to have undergone a radical change in position, from the role of perfectionist artist to that of hunter and gatherer. For this reason the footage for three commercial spots which makes up Poetry and Truth must be considered intentionally gathered rather than found footage. The beginning of all art is the ready-made. Even today an Inuit carver will carry an evocatively shaped stone around until he discovers the image it contains. Minimal changes are then made until this image becomes visible to others too. A minimally corrected ready-made is what Kubelka had in mind – at the same time leaving room for further archeologist questions we cannot imagine at present. The film already contains the answers. (Peter Tscherkassky)