Our longstanding collaborator from Curaçao, Peter Jordens, reminded us that the 11th Curaçao International Film Festival took place during April 9-13, 2025. Here, Jordens shares detailed information on one of the films he watched at the festival: Kouté vwa (Listen to the Voices; directed by Maxime Jean-Baptiste, French Guiana / Belgium, 2024). Also read his personal note below. [Thank you, Peter!]
Kouté vwa, a film set in French Guiana, premiered in August 2024 at the Locarno Film Festival (Switzerland), where it won the Special Jury Prize CINÉ+ for Filmmakers of the Present and obtained a Special Mention in the First Feature Competition. Kouté vwa has also won the Jury Prize for Feature Film and the Jury Prize for UPJV Students at the International Film Festival of Amiens (France) in November 2024. (Source: https://www.film-documentaire.fr/4DACTION/w_fiche_film/72794_0)
Excerpts from three film reviews:
“Kouté vwa is a captivating film that addresses universal themes such as grief, violence, and forgiveness. It also highlights the importance of maintaining a smile and the will to live in the company of loved ones, no matter what trials life presents. Through its characters and their journeys, the film invites us to find the strength to continue through the darkest moments, by staying connected to what matters most: love and family solidarity.” —Malko Douglas Tolley, Cinergie, https://www.cinergie.be/actualites/koute-vwa-de-maxime-jean-baptiste-2024
“Oscillating between fiction and documentary, the film is at once a coming-of-age movie that follows the trajectory of a young boy who tries to shape himself in the memory of an uncle sacrificed on the altar of the endemic violence that plagues the streets, a dreamlike exploration of this memory, and a reflection on violence experienced in a family: an inheritance that is familial as well as historical and colonial. Served by superb visuals that capture the bodies even more than the landscapes that they inhabit, Kouté vwa is a promising first feature film that presents neglected images of a territory that is in pain but enriched by those who bring it to life and tell its story.” —Aurore Engelen, Cineuropa, https://cineuropa.org/fr/newsdetail/464988
“Filmmaker Maxime Jean-Baptiste’s moving and sophisticated film, Kouté vwa, delves into situations that derive from real-life scenarios. It’s a masterfully layered picture with great depth that has three solid key performances at its center. It’s an exploration of dealing with tragedy in the main characters’ lives as they overcome elements of the past […] The exploration of one’s family history is sometimes the key to the past, present and future. This movie ultimately is a truly notable picture that thankfully doesn’t hide behind any false idealism.” —Thomas Duffy, FilmBook, https://film-book.com/film-review-koute-vwa-maxime-jean-baptistes-commendable-film-offers-a-poignant-look-at-grief-locarno-2024
Note by Peter Jordens: Arthur Lauters, the film’s cinematographer who is also the husband of its co-writer Audrey Jean-Baptiste, was present at the CIFF and explained that Kouté vwa was instrumental in helping the cast, consisting of family and friends of the deceased musician Lucas Diomar, to process their lingering grief; it brought them “catharsis and redemption”. Lauters also explained that the film was a dynamic, collaborative effort between the production team and the cast who, together, improvised on the basic initial script as filming progressed. The film is a hybrid of documentary and fiction, of reality and narrative, told from the perspective of Melrick Diomar, Lucas’ nephew and the film’s protagonist. No actors were used; all people in the film ‘play’ themselves.
Kouté vwa [Listen to the Voices]
- Director: Maxime Jean-Baptiste
- Writers: Audrey Jean-Baptiste and Maxime Jean-Baptiste
- Countries: French Guiana/Belgium
- Year: 2024
- Genres: Drama, music
- Languages: French and Creole
- Duration: 77 minutes
- Production: Twenty Nine Studios and Spectre Productions, with Atelier Graphoui and Shelter Productions
Webpage: http://twentyninestudio.net/films/koute-vwa
Social media: https://www.facebook.com/people/Kouté-Vwa/61565902093076, https://www.instagram.com/koutevwa
Film clips: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FSNXaFZtJo, https://vimeo.com/919571363
Film photos: https://arthurlauters.com/portfolio/koute-vwa
Our longstanding collaborator from Curaçao, Peter Jordens, reminded us that the 11th Curaçao International Film Festival took place during April 9-13, 2025. Here, Jordens shares detailed information on one of the films he watched at the festival: Kouté vwa (Listen to the Voices; directed by Maxime Jean-Baptiste, French Guiana / Belgium, 2024). Also read his
