In 1965, seven generals were killed in Indonesia. The Communist party was blamed, and hundreds of thousands of suspected members and sympathizers were imprisoned or executed. Ibrahim Kadir, a traditional poet from the village of Takengon, was accused of being a Communist activist and imprisoned for twenty-two days. In this startling dramatic feature, re-enactment is combined with dramatic monologue as Kadir plays himself: a detainee with an uncertain future who witnesses the anguish of those awaiting execution. The majority of the actors are residents of Takengon, who experienced this tragedy firsthand.

This companion piece to A Poet is a portrait of Ibrahim Kadir and the art form of didong poetry, which the feature film uses as its dramatic form. At the time of the filming, didong poetry had been banned for eight months.