Boatman Boogie navigates the Maroni River, which forms the border between Suriname and French Guiana, to deliver essential cargo to remote Maroon and Indigenous communities. While these forest peoples grow their own food, they are increasingly dependent on boatmen for their daily provisions. Climate-driven flooding and droughts are destroying their crops, and gold mining is poisoning the water. When Boogie is summoned by his clan leaders to attend his nephew’s trial, the demands of his work begin to conflict with his traditional duties. During a winding journey far upstream, the currents grow increasingly unpredictable. 

Boogie is the film’s narrator, sharing this role with the people he encounters. The multi-voiced narrative of this hybrid, participatory documentary draws inspiration from the mato, a collective Maroon storytelling technique in which the storyteller is interrupted by others who add their own stories and songs. The script was developed in dialogue with the participants, and in the film, they re-enact their own lives.

Q & A
The screening will be followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers Tolin Alexander, Lonnie van Brummelen and Siebren de Haan.

Directed by Alexander & Van Brummelen & De Haan with the participation of Maroon and Indigenous communities from Suriname 
length: 103 min. 
premiere: Cinéma du Réel, Paris, 2025