Speak!
nonfiction / short
Directed by Zayde Naquib
Official Trailer
A portrait, essay, and poem: Speak! features 2023 US Beat Poet Laureate Rich Ferguson, percussionist Butch Norton, and the broader Los Angeles spoken word community.
From hearing ghost stories on a Southern porch to a chance encounter with Ginsberg, the film explores the power and poetry of voice through rhythms, sound, and light. Across 13 minutes, the film is designed for the theater - the magic of only what entering a world in a dark room with others can offer.
Premiering in festivals in 2026.
Director’s Statement:
I first met the poet Rich Ferguson in 2009, working on a documentary project then titled Tonal Spontaneity, about spontaneous forms of art. We collaborated again on a video for his piece, "When You Hear This, I Hope You Know It's About You," with multi-instrumentalist Herwig Mauer.
Speak! marks our first collaboration in 16 years, which has been both a fruitful return to creating together and by far our most personal project to-date. His work is endlessly inspiring, but I'm even more moved by his authenticity as a human.
I approached him about making a documentary in late 2025, originally planned for my series, Rhythms. Once we began filming, it became clear this project was its own thing, and the collaborators who joined this, from amazing musicians to incredible poets, have all contributed to a project that continues to bear gifts and new inspiration. I can't wait to share it with the world.
