The Idealist

A poem film about love, fear, hope, and courage, featuring original footage from Taiwan and Japan, and archival footage from the United States.

Text of poem:

Angled
across
an open suitcase

Sidelong glance
earnest
as always

You said you would not
accept that fate
would not believe
there was no hope

I followed your hands
gently folding a sweater
and wondered how
you would live
how I would bear
what I knew
they would do

“You sure?”
I asked
but I knew the answer
and I knew it was settled
your fate
and mine

I imagined opening
a final statement
searching the charges
for any last clue

A cafe
alone
or perhaps with a lover
sharing a drink
planning
a life

There would be no darkness
no suffering
no pain
You would make
your own world

And maybe
draw
a line back to me
who set into motion
all of this wonder

Rocked you to sleep
Kissed you good night

Afraid of nothing
aware of no storm

The forces that took you
just seeds
in the ground

  • Adam E. Stone
    Director
  • Adam E. Stone
    Writer
  • Adam E. Stone
    Producer
  • Adam E. Stone
    Key Cast
    "Narrator"
  • Adam E. Stone
    Cinematographer
  • Adam E. Stone
    Editor
  • Project Type:
    Experimental, Short, Other
  • Runtime:
    2 minutes 38 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    March 5, 2025
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States, Japan, Taiwan
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Black & White and Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Adam E. Stone

Adam E. Stone's latest feature film is the poetic essay film "Atmospheric Marginalia" (2022). His films have been featured at over 225 prominent, well-curated festivals worldwide, and have won numerous awards. Short films (poem, essay, or nonverbal) include "The Idealist" (2025), "Dream Sequence: Stasis" (2025), "Bridge" (2024), "form" (2024), "as the night" (2023), "Tyranny of the Unafflicted" (2023), "If Any" (2021), "Awake" (2021), "Specks and Flashes" (2020), "Elegy for Unfinished Lives" (2020), "an entombing(dis)entombing" (2020), "Declarations" (2019), and "Gods Die Too" (2018). Previous short dance films include "Do Not Forget the Lost" (2019), "Summer Friend: A Ballet Film" (2016), "Resting Places: A Ballet Film" (2015), and "Janet: A Silent Ballet Film" (2014). He also is the writer, producer, and co-director of the feature-length fictional essay film "Abstractly You Loved Me" (2013), and is one of the co-producers of, and conducted many of the interviews for, two feature-length documentaries: "Miss Fury and the Lost Legacy of Tarpé Mills" (2024), and "Black Hawk Down: The Untold Story" (DVD 2019). In 2012, Stone wrote and produced the spoken-word ballet "A Life Unhappening," which is about the impact of one woman's Alzheimer's disease on three generations of her family. In 2010, he wrote, directed, and produced the DVD novel "Cache Girl Saves the World: A Novel in Visions." He is also the author of three conventional print novels: "Xamon Song" (2006), "Kingston Fugue" (2007), and "The New Harmonies" (2009).

Add Director Biography