The documentary film will be previewed at the Caudan Arts Center on April 30. This project was launched in 2019. Belgian director Sébastien Petretti says he is convinced that art is a powerful means of breaking social determinism.
Their favorite musical genre is jazz. As part of International Jazz Day, celebrated on April 30, the Mo’Zar workshop is launching the documentary film “Mo’zar, my style”, directed by Belgian Sébastien Petretti. The latter follows the journey of Nolwenn, a pre-teen girl from a difficult neighborhood. The film will be previewed at the Caudan Arts Center at 7 p.m. on April 30, during the “Guet Mo’Zar” evening.
“Mo’zar, mon style”, lasting one hour and 10 minutes, was filmed in Mauritius in 2022. It tells the story of the Roche-Bois music workshop through the eyes and the experience of young Nolwenn, aged 12. “Six years ago, by chance, I discovered the Mo’zar workshop and heard for the first time the story of the late José Thérèse, founder of this unique school,” says Sébastien Petretti.
He says he was “seduced by a unique learning model, with a team of dedicated teachers, and above all by the presence of many underprivileged children who find refuge in this workshop to flourish through Sega Jazz”. This project thus became, for him, “an obsession: I had to succeed in transmitting to the viewer what I felt between these walls”.
After a site visit and a meeting with Valérie Lemaire, the director, the project was launched in 2019. However, the COVID-19 pandemic interrupted the process. In 2022, the film was relaunched, but with the observation that the children had grown up. It was then that the director made the decision to start the project from scratch, with a new script and a new protagonist: Nolwenn. This preteen, introverted but talented, has a gift for singing and harbors a dream of learning music.
“Starting from a scenario centered on three main characters, I ultimately opted for a single character. This choice became clear to me when I met Nolwenn, originally from Baie-du-Tombeau,” continues the director.
For the director, Nolwenn is a character in suspension, who emanates a sort of “spleen”. Her story is complex: her father is in prison for heroin trafficking, her older brother is a drug addict, and she struggles to find her place outside the arms of her mother Françoise. “This is a young girl who, we felt, could easily fall to one side or the other of the barrier. Throughout the filming, we observed a character discovering the notion of ‘frame’ for the first time. Benevolent certainly, but a framework all the same, which was not easy. Gradually, Nolwenn abandoned his tablet to take an interest in others and in music. Mo’zar’s drive instilled in him a positive and healthy energy that continues to this day and also influences his family. So I decided to follow his progress since his very first meeting with the supervisors, letting time do the rest. »
Through the film, Sébastien Petretti wanted to highlight the power of this project which started from nothing. In fact, José Thérèse started alone with 10 students. Today, the Mo’zar workshop has 102 students and around ten teachers. Since its creation, many students have not only found their way to education, but they have also found a way to express the traumas experienced on a daily basis. Six students even won scholarships to continue their studies at Berklee College of Music in the United States and the Jazz School in Tours, France.
“Like José Thérèse, I am convinced that Art is a powerful means of breaking social determinism: it can transform any young person condemned to the street, in search of recognition, and offer them a future. Even if not everyone becomes a professional artist, the move to Mo’zar can only be beneficial,” maintains Sébastien Petretti.
Another message that is close to his heart is: “We can lack everything materially, but sincere love can be a great ally in adversity. We feel it in Nolwenn, because Françoise, her mother, is a fighter with a big heart. »
Synopsis
Stuck between the four walls of a disadvantaged neighborhood of Port-Louis on Mauritius, Nolwenn, an introverted child, lives with her tablet as her only window on the world. That doesn’t stop him from dreaming in music. A dream that could well come true when she is welcomed into Mo’zar, an atypical Jazz school created by an idealistic musician.
Screened in Brussels and France
After its preview launch in Mauritius, the film will be screened in cinemas for two weeks in Brussels. Next, he will participate in his first film festival, the “Rock this town”, in Pau, France, on May 5. The film will also be released by MC Vision in the near future. “We would also like to screen it in Mauritian cinemas. »
Concert by the Mo’Zar Jazz Band
The film screening will be followed by a concert by the Mo’Zar Jazz Band. Made up of 18 young musicians, the Mo’Zar Jazz Band, directed by Philippe Thomas, will offer the public a jazzy repertoire mixing new compositions and covers. He will be joined by some artists from the local and international scene. Admission is free to attend the film screening and concert. However, it is necessary to register on the Caudan Arts Center website to reserve your place.
