I was pulled into the project by the voice on those tapes and the world that came with it.

When producer Brittani Mathis returned to East Texas after a period of deep personal loss, she rediscovered a box of cassette tapes recorded by her great-grandfather, Wyatt Moore, in the 1970s and early 1980s. An infamous moonshiner, boatbuilder, and storyteller of Caddo Lake, Wyatt’s voice carried regional lore, family history, and the sounds of a place and people she thought she had lost.

What struck me was how much was contained in those recordings. There was Brittani finding her way back to her family and to Caddo during a period of grief, but there was also a larger record of place and community.

She had also tracked down the last bateau Wyatt ever built, a handmade wooden boat still intact decades later. The boat gave us something physical that connected all of it.

With a small crew, we restored the bateau and returned it to Caddo Lake. That process became the backbone of the film, giving us a way to connect Wyatt’s voice, the landscape, the history, and Brittani’s return home.

As a director, my goal was to evoke more than explain. The film blends oral history, folk art, and personal grief into something that moves more like memory than narrative. We leaned into texture and atmosphere, letting sound and stillness speak for themselves.

The Last Bateau is a meditation on legacy, craft, and return. It is an attempt to honor what we choose to carry forward.