As part of their third year at Cinécréatis, a group of students from Lyon have chosen to develop an audiovisual project centred on a subject close to their hearts. This creative freedom allows them to champion their beliefs, explore personal themes and put the skills they have learnt during their course into practice. It is against this backdrop that DOUBOUT OUBIEN MÔ was born, a socially engaged documentary dedicated to the protest movement against the high cost of living in Martinique.
Led by Solenne Plumelle and her team, the project is rooted in a particularly pressing social issue. Since August 2024, Martinique has been gripped by a popular uprising against the cost of living and the economic inequalities affecting the overseas territories. Through this documentary, the students sought to explore the impact of this situation on the daily lives of the island’s inhabitants, whilst also raising awareness of a struggle whose issues remain largely unknown in mainland France.
A chosen subject, a desire to make a commitment
The choice of this theme stems above all from a team that wishes to use cinema to address a social issue. The aim is not simply to document a social movement, but to understand the mechanisms that gave rise to it, to meet the people involved and to bear witness to the reality experienced by the people of Martinique.
The project centres on three main themes: the consequences of the colonial system, Caribbean culture as a means of expressing anger, and unity as a force for mobilisation. This approach enables us to move beyond the mere issue of food prices to explore deeper historical, economic and identity-related issues.
To bring this ambition to life, the team chose to travel directly to Martinique. This immersion in the region is a crucial stage of the project: meeting the locals, discovering their daily lives, understanding their difficulties and engaging with those involved in the movement.
From pre-production to filming: a genuine production experience
Beyond its subject matter, DOUBOUT OUBIEN MÔ represents a major collaborative effort and a professional learning experience for the students. From pre-production to post-production, the project brings together various film professions: directing, production, cinematography, sound, stage management and editing.
Filming, which took place in Martinique between 17 February and 9 March 2025, was organised around fifteen days of work and numerous location scouting trips. The team filmed at a number of the island’s iconic locations, from the Cap 110 memorial to the markets of Fort-de-France, as well as sugar cane fields, beaches and the movement’s gathering places.
This experience also required a great deal of adaptability. Filming a social movement involves following its development, adapting to events and building a relationship of trust with the people encountered. This on-the-ground reality gives this project a particularly formative dimension.
Cinema as a means of giving voices a platform
With DOUBOUT OUBIEN MÔ, the students are not merely seeking to complete a final-year project. They aim to produce a film capable of provoking reflection, fostering empathy and, above all, inspiring an interest in a social and historical reality.
The title of the documentary, a Martinican Creole expression literally meaning ‘Rise up or die’, reflects this spirit of resistance and collective mobilisation. It also echoes the eponymous song by Kolo Barst, whose music accompanies the project.
Through this project, the team is exploring every aspect of an ambitious documentary production: developing a perspective, upholding a purpose, working in close contact with reality, and using the visual medium as a means of communication.
This approach fully illustrates the freedom afforded to third-year Cinécréatis students: the freedom to choose their subject, to take ownership of it and to bring a meaningful project to life.