KOUTÉ VWA
LISTEN TO THE VOICES
Directed by Maxime Jean-Baptiste
Belgium, France, French Guiana | 2024 | 77' | French, Guianese Creole
Melrick, a 13-year-old boy, spends his summer vacation in Cayenne with his grandmother Nicole. His desire to learn to play the drum brings back the spectre of Lucas, Nicole's son, also a drummer, who died in tragic conditions 11 years earlier.
Director
Festivals & Awards
Locarno Film Festival - Cineasti del Presente 2024 (Switzerland) - Special Jury Prize CINÉ+, First Feature Awards - Special Mention
Vancouver International Film Festival 2024 (Canada) - Spectrum
Monterrey IFF (Mexico) – International Feature Comp.
Festival Monde en Vues (Guadalupe) - Film d'ouverture - Prix du Jury Ligue des Droits de l'Homme, Mention spéciale Jury
Festival International du Film Indépendant de Bordeaux (France) - Feature Films in Competition - Prix Erasmus+
FIFAC - Festival International du Film documentaire Amazonie Caraïbes (French Guiana) - Longs-Métrages en Compétition / Doc Amazonie Caraïbe
La Toile des Palmistes (French Guiana)
Viennale (Austria)
CinéMartinique Film Festival (Martinique) - Grand prix Documentaire
FIC Monterrey (Mexico) - Competencia internacional de ficción
Film Fest Gent (Belgium) - Official Selection Out of Competition
Chicago International Film Festival (USA) - New Directors Competition
Französischen Filmtage Tübingen | Stuttgart (Germany) - Internationaler Wettbewerb
Mostra São Paulo (Brazil) - New Directors
Festival des 3 Continents (France) - Special Screening
RIDM - Rencontres internationales du documentaire de Montréal (Canada) -Compétition Nouveaux Regards
FIFAM - Festival International du Film d'Amiens (France) - Compétition - Jury Award Best Feature Film and Student Jury Award
Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival (China) - New Wave
Maxime Jean-Baptiste
Maxime Jean-Baptiste (°1993) grew up in the context of the Guianese and West Indian diaspora in France. His work delves into the complexities of colonial history, focusing on archives and forms of reconstitution to conceive a living, embodied memory. His films have travelled to numerous festivals (Berlinale, Sundance, CPH:DOX, Hot Docs, ISFF Clermont-Ferrand, IDFA...). Kouté vwa (2024) is his first feature film, and had its world premiere at Locarno FF (Special Jury Award Cine+)
