Richard Wilbur - Keeping the Difficult Balance
A documentary about the second U.S. Poet Laureate featuring interviews with Donald Hall, Stephen Sondheim, Brian Bedford, Austin Pendleton, Rhina P. Espaillat, Dana Gioia and Wilbur in the last five years of his life. A meditation on mortality, love and loss. A masterclass in creativity, poetry, humanity and how to conduct one’s life with dignity and grace. The non traditional running time has been extolled by former Emmy-winning ABC journalist, Bill Blakemore, as integral to the film’s power.
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Ralph HammannDirector
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Ralph HammannWriter
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Ralph HammannProducer
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Richard WilburKey Cast2nd US Poet Laureate
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Brian BedfordKey CastTony-winning actor, Grand Prix, Nixon, The Importance of Being Earnest
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Rhina P. EspaillatKey CastAward-winning Poet
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Austin PendletonKey CastMy Cousin Vinny, Finding Nemo, Starting Over, Catch 22, The Muppet Movie, Simon, What"s Up Doc?
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Stephen SondheimKey CastSweeney Todd, Gypsy, A Little Night Music, West Side Story, The Last of Sheila, etc.
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William BlakemoreKey CastABC News
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Donald HallKey Cast14th US Poet Laureate
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Dana GioiaKey CastAward-Winning Poet, former Chair of NEA
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Alicia StallingsKey CastAward-winning Poet
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Meghan PicernoKey CastCandide (Lincoln Center)
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Justina TrovaCinematography
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Patricia HoMusic
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Nathanial ParkeMusicBerkshire Symphony, Williams College
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Lisa Qiya LiMusic
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Shantia MayerAssistant Editor
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Project Type:Documentary, Feature
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Runtime:2 hours 59 minutes
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Completion Date:August 19, 2019
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Country of Origin:United States
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Country of Filming:United States
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Language:English
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Shooting Format:Digital
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Aspect Ratio:16:9
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Film Color:Color
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First-time Filmmaker:Yes
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Student Project:No
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Amarcord Arthouse Television AwardsChicago , IL
United States
Winner, Best Documentary -
Latitude Film AwardsLondon, England
United Kingdom
Silver Award, Documentary Feature -
Spotlight Documentary Film AwardsAtlanta, GA
United States
Silver Award, Documentary Feature -
International Independent Film AwardsEncino, CA
United States
Silver Award, Documentary Feature -
Accolade Global Film CompetitionLa Jolla, CA
United States
Certificate of Merit, Documentary Feature -
Indie Fest Film Awards
United States
Award of Merit -
Impact Docs Awards
United States
Award of Merit -
Dumbo Film FestBrooklyn, NY
United States
Semi-Finalist -
UK Monthly Film FestivalLondon, England
United Kingdom
Official Selection -
World Premiere Film Awards
Winner, Best Documentary Feature
Ralph Hammann was a film and theater teacher and critic for over 35 years. He also had a part time career as an actor and theater director. As a curator of film festivals at the Berkshire Museum, he introduced audiences to such diverse directors as Kurosawa, Fellini, Lean and Chabrol. Following his departure from education, he has returned to his first and most abiding love, cinema.
As a 67-year-old embarking on his first feature film, I am something of an anomaly, but film has always been a mainstay of my life since my father, an award winning photographer, brought me to my first movie, The Animal World, at age 4. The special effects by Ray Harryhausen and Willis O’Brien introduced me to the endless opportunities of the medium to explore other worlds, cultures and ideas. After a near-lifetime of teaching and critiquing films, I hope to use my accumulated knowledge and experience in making a few films that have something to say that might make a difference in our present tumultuous times. I chose my first subject to be Richard Wilbur, one of the most important (if under-sung) poets and figures of our time. I hope in this film to give the viewer a chance to live in his presence for a few hours. I firmly believe the result will be transformational.
I have been most influenced by the films of Kurosawa, Lean, Kubrick, Fellini, Truffaut, Chabrol, Welles, Reed, Lang and Hitchcock.