North American Premiere
A powerful, insightful docudrama following a teenage boy from France spending the summer at his grandmother’s house in French Guiana, where he learns about his roots and connects with a community of people still reeling from the tragic loss of his uncle, who died under senseless, violent circumstances several years earlier. Through individual stories, he pieces together a legacy of both personal relevance and broader cultural resonance. The intense community immersion also sees him mastering the drums and partaking in a traditional drumming performance, the final act of initiation into the tight-knit circle.
Drawing from his own background in this emotionally charged feature debut, Maxime Jean-Baptiste demonstrates a sharp understanding of form fluidity and hybridity, skillfully blending verité observation with narrative elements. Loosely structured yet beautifully written, Listen to the Voices captures the essence of formative experiences distilled through poignant conversations with community elders, family members, and peers.
Special Jury Prize CINE+, Locarno 2024
Sept 30 & Oct 1: Q&A with director Maxime Jean-Baptiste
Community Partner
Melrick Diomar, Nicole Diomar, Yannick Cébret
French Guiana/Belgium/France
2024
In French and Creole with English subtitles
Racist content
Book Tickets
Indigenous & Community Access
Indigenous Access Tickets Community Access Tickets Ticket Donation Requests
Credits & Director
Producer
Rosa Spaliviero, Olivier Marboeuf
Screenwriter
Audrey Jean-Baptiste, Maxime Jean-Baptiste
Cinematography
Arthur Lauters
Editor
Liyo Gong
Original Music
Mayouri Tchô Nèg, Josy Masse, Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders, London Symphony Orchestra
Maxime Jean-Baptiste
Maxime Jean-Baptiste (born 1993) is a filmmaker based in Brussels and Paris. His work delves into the complexity of Western colonial history and its present-day impacts, focusing on archives and re-enactment as a perspective for conceiving a living, embodied memory. Nou voix (2018) won the Jury Prize at the Festival des Cinémas Différents et Expérimentaux. Listen to the Beat of Our Images (2021), co-directed with his sister Audrey, was selected at CPH:DOX, Hot Docs, IDFA, and many other festivals. His latest film, Listen to the Voices, is his debut feature.
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
King Arthur's Night
John Bolton's film of Niall McNeil and Marcus Youssef's musical staging recreates Camelot at Harrison Hot Springs. It's a self-referential piece which joyfully reframes a classical narrative through the prisms of disability, inclusivity, and imagination.
Dazed and Confused
The last day of high school in May, 1976: seniors debate party politics while next term's freshmen run the gauntlet of brutal initiation rites, barely comforted by the knowledge that they'll wield the stick one day.
Democracy Under Siege
As the USA turns 250, Oscar-nominated director Laura Nix considers the roots of the current political crisis with commentary from historian Heather Cox Richardson, progressive politician Jamie Raskin, and cartoonist Ann Telnaes, among others.
A Cree Approach
Tristin Greyeyes embarks on a deeply personal journey to understand why Cree was not her first language, unraveling the story of her late grandmother, Freda Ahenakew. An intimate tribute and a call to action for the reclamation of language and identity.
Whispers in the Woods
A luxuriant, healing immersion in nature with ravishing wildlife photography, this is the cinematic equivalent of "forest bathing," a trip deep into the Vosges, France, with photographer Vincent Munier (The Velvet Queen), his father and his son.