When is it time to break the silence?  Renée Blanchar’s documentary Le silence (The Silence, Ça Tourne Productions/NFB) opening at Montreal’s Cinémathèque québécoise on September 24.

August 25, 2021 – Montreal – National Film Board of Canada (NFB)

Following an award-winning showing at the Rendez-vous Québec Cinéma, Renée Blanchar’s feature documentary Le silence (The Silence) will open in Montreal at the Cinémathèque québécoise on Friday, September 24, in its original French version. The film tackles a difficult topic—the sexual abuse perpetrated by Catholic priests against young boys in francophone New Brunswick—with great sensitivity. Probing the root causes of the collective silence that paralyzed the affected communities for so many years, the veteran Acadian filmmaker offers an enlightened take on a human drama that’s playing out practically across the globe. Indeed, with pedophilia scandals making the news on a regular basis, the film underscores the unimaginable devastation left wherever such horrors may unfold, be it in Acadia, Quebec or elsewhere. Co-produced by Ça Tourne Productions and the NFB in association with Radio-Canada, Le silence is an urgent call-out to the humanity in each of us.

Blanchar confronts silence with truth to deliver a film that’s shattering, personal and necessary. Deeply rooted in her community, she had unknowingly come close to an abusive priest while shooting her first documentary, Vocation ménagère (1996), in Acadian parishes. This time, flanked by a seasoned team that included cinematographer Philippe Lavalette and sound designer Sylvain Bellemare (whose work on Denis Villeneuve’s Arrival won him an Oscar), the filmmaker went to meet the victims. The heartbreaking testimonials of men like Jean-Paul, Victor and Lowell vividly highlight how the ordeal of abuse destroys lives. Silenced for too long, their courageous decision to finally name their perpetrators brings with it hope for justice and healing.

About the film

Le silence by Renée Blanchar (106 min)

Co-produced by Ça Tourne Productions (Maryse Chapdelaine) and the NFB’s Canadian Francophonie Studio in Moncton (Christine Aubé), in collaboration with Radio-Canada

Awards: La Vague Léonard-Forest Award for Best Acadian Medium-length or Feature Film, FICFA 2020; Award for Best French-Canadian film, Rendez-vous Québec Cinéma 2021

About the filmmaker

Filmmaker Renée Blanchar studied cinema in France before returning to develop a successful career in film and television while working from her hometown in New Brunswick. Her work has in many ways blazed a trail not just for Acadian cinema but for women in the film industry everywhere. Renée made her mark in television drama as the director of the series Belle-Baie for five seasons (2008–2012). She’s currently working on a series on the life and work of writer Gabrielle Roy. Like her most recent film, her documentaries are noted for their powerful subject matter and their ability to reveal the depths of the protagonists’ humanity. Le silence (2020), Raoul Léger, la vérité morcelée (Raoul Léger: The Elusive Truth, 2002) and On a tué l’Enfant-Jésus (A Hospital Crucified, 2007) all won the La Vague Prize for Best Acadian Film at the Festival international du cinéma francophone en Acadie (FICFA). Les héritiers du club (A Place That Matters, 2014) and Nos hommes dans l’Ouest (Shadow Men, 2017) have also resonated strongly within and beyond their own milieux. Most of Blanchar’s work has been written and directed from her home base in the city of Caraquet, New Brunswick.

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