Maxime Jean-Baptiste’s Feature Debut ‘Listen to the Voices’ Tackles Grief

French Guiana is rarely depicted in cinema. When it is, we might see its beautiful landscapes, jungles, coastlines, and gold mines. These typical elements are precisely what Maxime Jean-Baptiste, director of “Listen to the Voices” (“Kouté vwa”), sought to avoid. The film is part of the Filmmakers of the Present section at the Locarno Film Festival and is sold by MoreThan Films.

Jean-Baptiste was keen to portray Guiana differently. When speaking with *Variety*, he contrasted his approach with the French ’70s adventure film “Jean Galmot, Aventurier,” where his father was an extra. This personal connection to cinema is a recurring theme in his work, including his shorts “Nou Voix” (2018) and “Moune Ô” (2021).

Much of Jean-Baptiste’s work is deeply familial. Alongside the mentioned shorts, he co-directed “Listen to the Bear of Our Images” (2021) with his sister, Audrey Jean-Baptiste, who also co-wrote “Listen to the Voices.”

“Listen to the Voices” holds a particularly personal connection due to a family tragedy. In 2012, Jean-Baptiste’s cousin, Lucas Diomar, was brutally killed, leaving the family in deep grief. The film follows 13-year-old Melrick, Lucas’ nephew, who spends his summer at his grandmother Nicole’s home in French Guiana to escape his life in Stains, Paris.

While Nicole seems to have found a way to come to terms with her loss, Yannick, a close friend who witnessed Lucas’s death, remains traumatized and stuck in time. Jean-Baptiste mentioned to *Variety* that he aimed to portray these different grieving stages, contemplating, “How could I make a film that might help to heal their wounds?”

The film’s title, “Kouté vwa” (French Creole for “Listen to the Voices”), encapsulates its aim—a polyphonic narrative of intertwined testimonies. The collaborative effort of the production team was crucial. Jean-Baptiste asked the actors how they wanted to be represented, resulting in a lot of scenes being removed and a highly emotional process for everyone involved. This collaboration led to a unique blend of documentary and fiction, with Jean-Baptiste explaining that fiction created a necessary distance for everyone to tell their stories.

For instance, Nicole was uncomfortable with the documentary format of direct questioning. To address this, Jean-Baptiste and his sister Audrey rewrote the script to lean more towards fiction. Despite this, his documentary roots remain evident. The film opens with TV coverage of a carnival dedicated to Lucas, a nod to his previous films that utilized archival footage.

One particularly powerful scene features Nicole driving with Melrick in the backseat, recalling a tense encounter with one of the men responsible for her son’s death. She was so overcome with pain and the desire for revenge that she was ready to attack him but ultimately refrained. This moment highlights the historical violence connected to the tragedy.

At a deeper level, the film also tackles the lingering effects of colonialism, which the characters might not explicitly address. Jean-Baptiste aimed to let the characters speak in their own words, recognizing that their perceptions of French overseas departments as colonies vary.

“Listen to the Voices” was intended to aid the characters in their grieving process. However, the film realistically depicts that grief and the colonial violence interconnected with it do not simply vanish. This ambiguity reflects the uncertain future for the characters, including Melrick, who must eventually carve out his own path.

This storytelling approach highlights the complex, ongoing nature of their experiences.

Source: Variety