Speak Up

Every year, students from all walks of life gather at the University of Saint-Denis and battle for the title of best orator. Thirty students embark on the tough 6-week journey to prepare for the prestigious "Eloquentia" contest. On day one of the rhetoric prep, one of the coaches, a lawyer by trade, asks the students to reflect on their personal relationship to the spoken word.

The elocution students participate in an ice-breaking exercise with the help of their new coach, a theater director, in order to get to know each other better. Later, each student gets to reveal a bit more about their personality with the help of a slam poet. We get to know more about some of the participating students: Leïla, Elhadj and Eddy.

30 days before the contest, the students work with a vocal coach to practice their breating and better project. As they continue working with their poetry coach on their story-telling strategies, the students are challenged to focus on their diction, their delivery, and their powers of persuassion.

An intimate look into the lives of Elhadj and Leïla shows the true power of words as a means of expression, as a means of activism, as a means of establishing a human connection, asserting oneself, fighting opression, and speaking up, especially for those who cannot speak anymore.

After weeks of sharing, and expressing themselves on serious matters, Thomas makes light of a particularly delicate subject and sparks a debate on free speech, censorship and humour. Is everything fair game? Should we laugh about everything and anything?

10 days until the contest. The coaches are pushing the students harder than ever. Arguments, diction, coherence, projection, gestures, eye-contact, conviction, and of course, the words. All elements that the students will need to master if they hope to become the school's top orator.

The day of the contest has finally arrived and our 30 students must deal with their nerves and stress if they hope to advance past the elimination round. Out of 110 participants, only 8 will move on to the quarter finals. Will everything our students have been learning pay off?

After much deliberation, Souleïla secured a spot in the semi-finals, along with Eddy and Elhadj. Each of them gets a chance to show the judges their unique styles and how much they've progressed in the past six weeks. But, which two will earn the right to face off in the final round?

It's a clash of the titans as Souleïla and Eddy face off in the final round of the Eloquentia contest. An aspiring actor and a psychology student have one week to prepare for the big finale. Who will emerge victorious? And, as we look back at how far the students have come, it becomes clear that what they have gained goes far beyond a mere elocution competition.