Poetry Across Ages
A Global Recitation & Dialogue Series
The Concept
Poetry Across Ages is a filmed cultural series that pairs dramatic recitations of great poems from around the world with in-depth scholarly dialogue. Each episode centers on a single poem — performed by an actor — followed by a conversation with a scholar who explores the poem's historical, literary, and cultural meaning. The series moves across continents, languages, and eras, creating a global map of human experience through poetry. It is a bridge between art and intellect.
Our Vision
Poetry has always been humanity's most distilled expression of love, exile, longing, faith, grief, resistance, and hope. Across cultures and centuries, poets have wrestled with the same existential questions. By pairing performance with scholarship, the series allows viewers to first experience the poem emotionally — and then intellectually.
Episode Structure
1. Recitation
An actor performs the poem in a minimal, cinematic setting with focused lighting, strong sound design, and no distractions. Subtitles accompany performances when needed.
2. Diving Deep into the Poem
A cultural expert discusses the poem's historical context, symbolism, literary structure, and contemporary relevance in an accessible and engaging dialogue.
Collaboration Model
The project collaborates with universities and talented artists. Contributors may participate in filming, sound, editing, translation, research, acting, and production coordination. Scholars participate as intellectual partners and on-camera contributors, creating an educational and creative ecosystem alongside the production.
Long-Term Vision
The project can expand into full seasons across continents, educational licensing, festival submissions, digital streaming platforms, international academic partnerships, and companion publications. It begins with simplicity: a voice, a poem, a conversation.
About the Director
Alex M. Azmi
Director, Executive Producer
Alex Azmi is an Emmy-Award winning filmmaker based in Los Angeles, CA. He is dedicated to creating documentaries and narrative films that explore social and human issues with depth and integrity.
With a commitment to collaborating with talented artists in the US and around the world, Alex produces high-quality films that matter. Poetry Across Ages represents his vision of bringing together performance, scholarship, and cultural dialogue in service of shared humanity.
Get Involved
Are you interested in collaborating on Poetry Across Ages? We welcome scholars, performers, filmmakers, translators, and creative professionals from around the world. Please use the contact form below to share your interest and how you'd like to contribute to this project.