The Silence

This realistic two-part dramatization follows the desperate struggle by young residents of a Roman Catholic orphanage to escape their nightmare of physical and sexual abuse. Their cries for help go unheeded, although a concerned janitor and a no-nonsense cop wage a personal crusade to uncover the terrible truth, and end the suffering. Justice does not come easily, or quickly. For many long years, Church officials, police and high government officials conspire to conceal the truth. For the victims, there is only shame and bitterness. And a deafening silence. Part two picks up the story 15 years later. At last, a government inquiry reopens the case. The victims must come face-to-face with their abusers and relive the awful past yet again. The time for silence has ended.

Pourquoi taire les choses les plus graves? Le silence ne contribue-t-il pas à perpétuer la souffrance ? Des années 1950 aux années 1980, des prêtres catholiques ont commis de nombreux abus sexuels sur de jeunes garçons dans plusieurs villages francophones du Nouveau-Brunswick. Mis au grand jour alors que les victimes avaient atteint la cinquantaine, ces scandales ont provoqué effarement et indignation dans les médias et l'opinion publique. Pourquoi les communautés affectées ont-elles si longtemps préféré le secret à la justice et à la vérité ? Profitant de leur influence pour imposer un « silence pieux » à leurs paroissiens, plusieurs figures d'autorité ont construit une véritable structure d'abus qui témoigne tout autant des oppressions propres aux populations acadiennes que du déni systémique de l'Église catholique. Interpellée par la puissance du silence collectif, la cinéaste chevronnée Renée Blanchar cherche à en démêler les causes profondes en allant à la rencontre des survivants. Avec le film Le silence, elle nous amène au plus près de l'humanité de ces hommes brisés, et révèle ce qui unit et désunit, hier comme aujourd'hui, les communautés acadiennes.

Acadia is a changing society at a crossroads. With citizens increasingly feeling abandoned by politicians, do artists have a role to play in society? Rooted firmly in the present while drawing lessons from the past, A Place That Matters follows its subjects as they reimagine life in their community through a series of collective initiatives. The documentary takes us to Sainte-Anne-du-Bocage, a neighbourhood of Caraquet, New Brunswick, and home to a once-thriving Youth Club-an abandoned cultural and community space that also belongs to the historical legacy of Acadie's first architect, Nazaire Dugas. Purchased a few years ago by writer France Daigle, and now undergoing renovation, the hall has become the rallying point for a group of Acadian artists and friends who want to resurrect the original spirit of this place. As Daigle restores the run-down roadside building, musician René Cormier and theatre artist Allain Roy prepare for its grand opening show. Throughout all this, filmmaker Renée Blanchar films the project's progress while helping to create a community garden. For everyone involved, it's about staying true to a form of social engagement and resilience. Drawing on intimate personal stories, the filmmaker gradually sketches a complex shared history. As the story of the fathers intertwines with that of the sons and daughters, we are invited to contemplate the importance of passing on memories, be it through kinship or art. Through their hands-on community-building projects, the artists and citizens in A Place That Matters resolutely open the door to other ways of being together.