Kino Lorber is set to release the acclaimed documentary MARY OLIVER: SAVED BY THE BEAUTY OF THE WORLD on VOD and digital platforms this week, arriving on July 28th, 2026. The film world premiered at this year’s True/False Film Festival before launching in US theaters on July 3rd, 2026.
In addition, the film will premiere nationwide Tuesday, August 25 at 9 p.m. ET on PBS (check local listings), pbs.org/americanmasters, the American Masters YouTube channel, and the PBS App.
Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World is directed by Sasha Waters, and features Stephen Colbert, John Waters, Oprah Winfrey, Steve Buscemi, V, Maria Shriver, Major Jackson, Mark Doty, Lucy Dacus, Helena Bonham Carter, Ada Limón, and Donika Kelly.
If poetry had a pop icon, Mary Oliver would be it. Celebrated bestseller, 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 50 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.
We’ve added the release date to our Streaming Calendar. Check out the film’s official trailer below.