Maxime Jean-Baptiste

In 1961, France established its space-center in Kourou, French Guiana, expropriating local Guianese. Field investigation meets archival video to empower a silenced population.

Melrick is an unruly young boy who spends his summer in French Guiana at his grandmother's house to escape his turbulent daily life in Stains, France. At the end of his stay, he plays the drum to revive the memory of his late uncle, Lucas Diomar, who died in tragic circumstances. Despite a wave of murders of young men shaking the headlines, Melrick becomes aware of his place in a family destroyed by irreparable grief.

Nou Voix is an autobiographical video departing from the participation of Maxime’s father, as a Guyanese figurant in the movie Jean Galmot aventurier (1990), which deals with the history of French Guiana. By re-enacting a part of the film, Maxime and his father try to amplify other kinds of voices.

Maxime Jean-Baptiste continues the research he started in "Nou Voix" (2018) concerning colonial memory, the Guyanese diaspora, and the staging of Black bodies. By questioning how “official” narratives are constructed, the film "Moune Ô" encourages a shift in perspective regarding the link between colonisation and extractivism.

The piece centers on Jean-Baptiste’s cousin Lucas, who was brutally murdered ten years ago at the age of 18, while at a birthday party in Cayenne, French Guiana.

In 1961, France established its space-center in Kourou, French Guiana, expropriating local Guianese. Field investigation meets archival video to empower a silenced population.

In 1961, France established its space-center in Kourou, French Guiana, expropriating local Guianese. Field investigation meets archival video to empower a silenced population.

Melrick is an unruly young boy who spends his summer in French Guiana at his grandmother's house to escape his turbulent daily life in Stains, France. At the end of his stay, he plays the drum to revive the memory of his late uncle, Lucas Diomar, who died in tragic circumstances. Despite a wave of murders of young men shaking the headlines, Melrick becomes aware of his place in a family destroyed by irreparable grief.

Melrick is an unruly young boy who spends his summer in French Guiana at his grandmother's house to escape his turbulent daily life in Stains, France. At the end of his stay, he plays the drum to revive the memory of his late uncle, Lucas Diomar, who died in tragic circumstances. Despite a wave of murders of young men shaking the headlines, Melrick becomes aware of his place in a family destroyed by irreparable grief.

Nou Voix is an autobiographical video departing from the participation of Maxime’s father, as a Guyanese figurant in the movie Jean Galmot aventurier (1990), which deals with the history of French Guiana. By re-enacting a part of the film, Maxime and his father try to amplify other kinds of voices.

Maxime Jean-Baptiste continues the research he started in "Nou Voix" (2018) concerning colonial memory, the Guyanese diaspora, and the staging of Black bodies. By questioning how “official” narratives are constructed, the film "Moune Ô" encourages a shift in perspective regarding the link between colonisation and extractivism.

Maxime Jean-Baptiste continues the research he started in "Nou Voix" (2018) concerning colonial memory, the Guyanese diaspora, and the staging of Black bodies. By questioning how “official” narratives are constructed, the film "Moune Ô" encourages a shift in perspective regarding the link between colonisation and extractivism.

The piece centers on Jean-Baptiste’s cousin Lucas, who was brutally murdered ten years ago at the age of 18, while at a birthday party in Cayenne, French Guiana.