The term ‘voice-hearer’ was coined in the late 1980s as part of a movement that rejected the clinical language often used to describe people with this experience, and instead embraced voice-hearing as a meaningful aspect of human life. The participants in the short documentary Lively Discussions Between Voice-Hearers also prefer this term. Drawing on a recording of a bimonthly support group for voice-hearers, the French director Tristan Thil brings their interactions to life via colourful, hand-drawn animations. Shapes morph, figures appear and dissolve, drifting into fleeting inner worlds before returning to the circle.
Through these shifting images, the film conveys the diversity of voice-hearing experiences – from troubling intrusions to pleasant conversations. More than simply an account of what it is like to live with voices, the short offers an attentive portrait of a space where people can speak without having to justify or explain themselves, and where listening becomes its own form of camaraderie. It shows how sharing even the most inward and personal experiences can lead to moments of resonance with others, forming the basis of mutual understanding and solace.
