Talking Drum
Director: Alexandre Gougeon
Canada, 2025, 30 min
Shooting Format:Digital
Festival Year:2025
Category:Documentary Short
Genres:Documentary, Music
Crew:Produced By: Susan Schafer. Director of Photography: Francis Pienaar. Edited By: Katie Flach. Sound Recordists: Kipling Harrop, Brendan Michie. Camera Operator: James Hellyer. First Camera Assistants: James Hellyer and Matt Mosley. Music By: Alexandre Gougeon. Post Production Audio and Color By: RedLab.
Email:alexandregougeon91@gmail.com
Synopsis
Talking Drum explores the healing power of drumming through the lens of three diverse community leaders and their mission to cultivate a sense of belonging using the universal language of rhythm.
About the director
Alexandre Gougeon is a Toronto-based documentary director from Toronto with a passion for telling stories in highly visual and unique ways. His directing credits include the short documentary I Am the Wolf, which was awarded the Best Documentary at the 2017 Vaughan Film Festival and included in the National Screen Institute. Alexandre is a graduate from Sheridan College’ ATVF program in 2017 studying Documentary and Audio & Post-Production. In addition to directing, Alexandre works as a sound recordist ranging from features, documentaries, and docu-drama series. He’s also a drummer of all styles.
Filmmaker's note
Drumming IS a language.
This film is a merging of my two passions: filmmaking and drumming. I want to show the world that the universal language of rhythm is just as important as ever in today's society.
For myself, drumming started as a fun hobby, but throughout the years has become a grounding spiritual exercise, and most importantly an important expressive tool to communicate with others. As a filmmaker, I wanted to capture this essence of rhythm through different cultures and the generational passing of an ancient form of language still used today. With so many technologically advanced ways of communicating in the present, my intention is for the audience to step away and connect to the natural ways we bond and heal through rhythm.