Review of "Cynara: Poetry in Motion" (1996) Cynara: Poetry in Motion is a 40-minute romantic drama released in 1996, directed and written by Nicole Conn. Set in the year 1883 in the isolated English village of Baycliff on the Irish Sea, the film explores the intense developing passion between two women: a lonely sculptor named Cynara (Johanna Nemeth) and a visitor from Paris named Byron (Melissa Hellman). Plot and Themes
The story follows the intellectual and artistic attraction between Cynara and Byron as they spend time together riding horses, playing chess, and exchanging tenderness.
Artistic Muse: Byron inspires Cynara’s sculpture, while Cynara becomes Byron’s muse for her writing.
Visual Contrast: The film uses a unique stylistic choice where the two women's fantasies of each other are presented in different formats—Cynara’s in black and white and Byron’s in color. Review of " Cynara: Poetry in Motion "
Atmosphere: Described as a "lesbian Wuthering Heights," the film features lush, atmospheric production values and focuses on the barriers to love in Victorian society. Cast and Production Details Cynara: Poetry in Motion (Short 1996) - IMDb
The film resurfaced in 2013 when a British Film Institute (BFI) preservation initiative located a 16 mm reel in the basement of the Middlesex Film Club. After a painstaking restoration, the BFI released a high‑definition digital transfer on its “Underground Classics” streaming platform in 2015. This version, labeled “Full Restoration (LFTH)”, includes a previously omitted 30‑second prologue that sets up the narrator’s backstory, confirming the “full” designation used in early bootleg notes.
The film’s first public showing occurred at the Middlesex Film Club on 12 March 1996, presented as part of a “Poetry & Film” night. Audience reaction was mixed: some praised its audacious rhythm, while others found the lack of a conventional plot “inaccessible.” The film’s first public showing occurred at the
Following the premiere, Cynara circulated on hand‑to‑hand Betamax and early DVD-R copies. Bootleg tags often included the cryptic string “mtrjm awn layn fydyw lfth full,” which quickly became a shorthand among collectors for “the complete original print (full version) by MTRJM, produced by Awn Layne, featuring Fydyw, the fifth movement.”
In the spring of 1996 a modestly budgeted, 78‑minute experimental feature quietly slipped onto the London underground circuit under the enigmatic banner “Cynara: Poetry in Motion.” Though it never received a wide theatrical release, the film has since earned a devoted following among cinephiles, poets, and archivists who prize its daring blend of visual rhythm, lyrical montage, and a hauntingly lyrical narrative. The title—part homage to Ernest Dowson’s melancholy poem Cynara and part reference to the New York City “Poetry in Motion” subway poster campaign—encapsulates the film’s core ambition: to make poetry a kinetic, cinematic experience.
This article reconstructs the film’s production history, explores its formal and thematic preoccupations, and assesses its after‑life in the age of digital restoration. It also deciphers the cryptic notes that have accompanied the film in various bootleg circles: “mtrjm awn layn fydyw lfth full.” The script was never written in the conventional sense
The script was never written in the conventional sense. Instead, James assembled a “full” collage of Dowson’s verses, contemporary urban poetry, and original lines penned by Yates. The collage was then broken into “beats” that dictated the film’s editing rhythm. This approach gave rise to the phrase “full” in the production’s internal shorthand, meaning “the complete poetic ledger.”
If you are looking for a specific video or poem:
Cynara: Poetry in Motion (1996)
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