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The Silence

Why be silent about the most serious matters? Doesn’t silence perpetuate suffering? From the 1950s to the 1980s, Catholic priests sexually abused many young boys in the francophone towns of New Brunswick. These scandals only came to light when the victims were in their fifties, provoking shock and outrage in the media and the public. Why did the affected communities keep silent so long, preferring secrecy to justice and truth? Profiting from their positions of influence to impose a “pious silence” on their parishioners, authority figures built an abusive system that tells us as much about the type of oppression …
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Why be silent about the most serious matters? Doesn’t silence perpetuate suffering? From the 1950s to the 1980s, Catholic priests sexually abused many young boys in the francophone towns of New Brunswick. These scandals only came to light when the victims were in their fifties, provoking shock and outrage in the media and the public. Why did the affected communities keep silent so long, preferring secrecy to justice and truth? Profiting from their positions of influence to impose a “pious silence” on their parishioners, authority figures built an abusive system that tells us as much about the type of oppression specific to the Acadian population as it does about the blanket denials issued by the Catholic Church. Called to confront the power of this collective silence, veteran filmmaker Renée Blanchar meets with survivors in an attempt to untangle the deeply rooted reasons for this secrecy. With The Silence, she takes us as close as she can to the humanity of these broken men, revealing the forces that, today as in the past, have the power to unite or divide Acadian communities.

 This work deals with mature subject matter. Viewer discretion is advised.
Religion, Beliefs and Ethics Law and Crime Francophone Communities All subjects
  • researcher
    Renée Blanchar
  • scriptwriter
    Renée Blanchar
  • director
    Renée Blanchar
  • participant
    Jean-Paul Melanson
    Victor Cormier
    Lowell Malllais
    Doria Mallais
    Julie Anne Richard
    Bobby Vautour
    Ola Cormier
    Kenneth Goguen
    Joe Anne Leblanc
    Dorine Richard
    Louise Cormier
    Rita Boudreau
    Léon Richard
    Michel Bastarache
    Bernard Richard
    Soeur Nuala Kenny
    Me Robert Talach
    Samuel Savoie
    René Villemure
    Sian Elias
  • executive producer
    Maryse Chapdelaine
    Denis McCready
  • producer
    Maryse Chapdelaine
    Christine Aubé
  • director of photography
    Philippe Lavalette
  • production manager
    Julie D'Amour Léger
  • still photographer
    Julie D'Amour Léger
  • location sound recordist
    Simon Doucet
  • coordination
    Marjolaine Albert
  • transportation
    Marjolaine Albert
  • additional camera
    Geoffroy Beauchemin
  • open air camera
    Gilles Daigle
  • additional location sound recording
    Olivier Léger
  • costumes
    Muriel Albert
  • fitting
    Muriel Albert
  • data wrangling technician
    Isabelle Aubin
  • additional data wrangling
    Digital Cut
  • production accountant
    Lucie Mallet
  • line production
    Geneviève Duguay
  • administrator
    Geneviève Duguay
  • production coordinator
    Audrey Rétho
  • editor
    Elric Robichon
  • technical coordinator
    Daniel Claveau
    Jean-François Laprise
  • technical support
    Patrick Trahan
    Pierre Dupont
    Marie-Josée Gourde
  • colorist
    Denis Pilon
  • online editor
    Denis Pilon
  • visual effects
    Mélanie Bouchard
  • infographics
    Mélanie Bouchard
  • titles
    Mélanie Bouchard
  • sound designer
    Sylvain Bellemare
  • narrator
    Renée Blanchar
  • voice director
    Natalie Hamel-Roy
  • foley
    Simon Meilleur
  • narration recordist
    Geoffrey Mitchell
  • foley recordist
    Luc Léger
  • sound mixer
    Jean-Paul Vialard
  • original music
    Jean-François Mallet
  • music studio
    La Classe
  • musician
    James Kalyn
    Suzie Leblanc
    Elinor Frey
    Jean-François Mallet
    Sian Elias
    Xavier Richard
  • sound recordist
    Xavier Richard
    Grégoire Jeay
  • archival rights clearance
    Emma Brunet Comtois
  • music rights clearance
    Josée-Anne Tremblay
  • translation of narration
    Christine Comeau
  • transcription services
    Pro Documents
  • subtitles
    Sette
  • closed captions
    Sette
  • video description
    Sette
  • text revision
    Lise Léger Anderson
  • marketing manager
    François Jacques
  • distribution, communication, marketing team
    Nathalie Bourdon
    Mary Graziano
    Louis-Charles Mignot
    Christine Noël
    Élise Labbé
    Éric Seguin
    Diane Hétu
    Émilie Nguyen
    Magalie Boutin
    Émilie Ryan
  • insurance
    Front Row Insurance
  • lawyer
    Lussier et Khouzam
  • legal counsel
    Peter Kallianiotis
  • accountant
    EPR Robichaud

Education

Ages 18+

Notes

Recommended Ages: 18+

 

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The Silence
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