Kino Lorber Acquires North American rights to Sasha Waters' 'Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World'
“An entertaining bio-doc that puts due emphasis on Oliver’s writing, in all its elegant and empathetic simplicity….makes an affecting case for her work and gives us a vivid look at her world.”
– Zachary Barnes, Wall Street Journal
Kino Lorber has acquired North American distribution rights to Sasha Waters’ Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World, a documentary portrait of the renowned poet of the natural world. The film made its world premiere at the 2026 True/False Film Festival and will next screen as part of the Berkshire International Film Festival and DOC NYC Spring Selects. Kino Lorber is planning a theatrical release on July 3 at the IFC Center in New York, followed by a digital, educational, and home video release.
If poetry had a pop icon, Mary Oliver would be it. Celebrated best-selling poet, Pulitzer Prize-winner, lover of dogs and long walks in the woods, openly queer but intensely private, Oliver was America’s unlikely contemporary mystic, stalking the ponds and forests of Cape Cod for nearly fifty years in order to open herself – and her readers – to the known and unknowable world. From a lonely childhood to literary fame, Oliver’s life was shaped by devotion to nature, paying attention, and the long journey toward learning to love and to be loved. Her poems inspire liberals and conservatives, atheists and believers, naturalists and urbanites, speaking directly to contemporary anxieties about attention, presence, and the human relationship with the natural world – issues that feel especially pressing in an era of climate crisis, digital distraction, and social fragmentation.
Featuring interviews with her close friends, including John Waters, never-before-seen personal photos, notebooks, and correspondence from her archive, and recitations of her work by Stephen Colbert, Lucy Dacus, Steve Buscemi, and Oprah Winfrey, Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World considers the poet’s long lifetime of work in context, capturing the uniqueness of her world and the natural beauty that inspired her.
The deal for Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World was negotiated by Kino Lorber VP of Acquisitions Karoliina Dwyer.
“It’s so hard to make a movie about poetry, but cinematic translator Sasha Waters has nailed it,” said Kino Lorber Chairman & CEO Richard Lorber. “Oliver’s words and Waters’ frames work together to dissolve that elusive membrane separating interior and exterior worlds, with enthralling, vividly visualized correlatives of what Oliver learns from nature in examining her own complex emotions. Fueled by poetry, it’s filmic fusion to be cherished.”
“We are thrilled to partner with Kino Lorber on the release of Mary Oliver,” said director Sasha Waters. “With their longtime cultivation of discerning documentary audiences, Kino Lorber is the ideal partner for a film that dives deep into the literary and cultural significance of Mary as both person and poet.”
Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World is a production of American Masters Pictures and is directed and produced by Sasha Waters. The film was originated by Executive Producer John Keith and Leah Weinkle and produced by Waters’ Pieshake Pictures and American Masters Pictures, led by Executive Producer Michael Kantor.