EXCLUSIVE: United Talent Agency (UTA) has signed Colombian filmmaker and Cannes Film Festival regular Simón Mesa Soto for representation in all areas.
Mesa Soto’s latest feature, Un Poeta, premiered in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2025 festival, where it was awarded the Jury Prize.
A satirical drama and tragicomedy, Un Poeta (A Poet) follows a struggling poet whose artistic ambitions and personal contradictions collide.
The film played at a host of international festivals and scored wins at Melbourne, San Sebastián, El Gouna, Munich, and in India. It was selected as Colombia’s official submission for Best International Feature Film at the 98th Academy Awards and received nominations for Best International Film at the Film Independent Spirit Awards and Best Ibero-American Film at the Goya Awards.
Mesa Soto’s connection with Cannes began with his short film Leidi, which won the short film Palme d’Or in 2014. He returned to the shorts Official Competition in 2016 with Madre, and debut feature, Amparo, premiered at Cannes Critics’ Week in 2021, where it earned the Louis Roederer Foundation Rising Star Award.
He studied Audiovisual Communication at Universidad de Antioquia before earning a Master’s degree from the London Film School.