Languages Archives: Guianese Creole

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A boy, backlit by the sun, stares out a window.

Listen to the Voices Kouté vwa

  Maxime Jean-Baptiste

  Belgium, France, French Guiana     77 minutes

Synopsis

Melrick, an unruly 13-year-old boy living in Stains, France, spends his summers at his grandmother’s house in French Guiana. He loves drumming — in no small part because his uncle Lucas, who tragically died 11 years prior, was also a drummer. As Melrick’s awareness of his family’s devastating past grows, he searches for ways to pay tribute to his history, culture, and heritage. Through a blend of intimate invented scenarios and carefully observed documentary footage, director Maxime Jean-Baptiste deftly crafts a heart-wrenching, deeply human portrait of a family and of a community committed to the anti-colonial struggle trying to reconcile their grief with an impulse for revenge. Listen to the Voices is urgent, beautiful, and filled with humanity.

 French, Guianese Creole with subtitles

Screenings & Events

Screening

Sat, Oct 19 @ 4:15pm CDT

at AMC NEWCITY 14, screen 01

Scheduled to Attend:
Director Maxime Jean-Baptiste

Screening

Sun, Oct 20 @ 3:30pm CDT

at Gene Siskel Film Center, screen 2

Scheduled to Attend:
Director Maxime Jean-Baptiste
Accessibility options for this screening:
  • Assistive Listening Devices available
Learn more about accessibility options...

Media

Film Credits

  •   Rosa Spaliviero, Olivier Marboeuf
  •   Audrey Jean-Baptiste, Maxime Jean-Baptiste
  •   Liyo Gong
  •   Arthur Lauters
  •   Melrick Diomar, Nicole Diomar, Yannick Cébret
  •   Mayouri Tchô Nèg, Josy Masse, Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders and the London Symphony Orchestra
  •   Twenty Nine Studio & Production, Spectre Productions
  •   https://www.morethan-films.com/koute-vwa

Sponsors

Black Perspectives Program Sponsor

Logo: AllState

New Directors Program Patron

Robert and Penelope Steiner Family Foundation