NFB Collection
Silent Tears
199728 minFilm: Fiction
Direction: Shirley Cheechoo
Production: Jerry KrepakevichShirley Cheechoo
Script: Shirley Cheechoo
Produced by Spoken Song Productions Inc. in co-production with the National Film Board of Canada and the Banff Centre for the Arts.
Based on a Cree family's true story, Silent Tears is a gripping drama that chronicles a very tough northern winter for nine-year-old Anne, her parents and siblings. Hunger sets in when her father, Roger, becomes sick and can no longer tend the trapline. When a horrendous tumour begins growing on the back of his neck, Anne's mother, Sarah, has to operate to remove it and save his life.
While Sarah cares for Roger and the younger children, Anne takes on more responsibility, checking the traps herself.
Eventually Roger is cured and he burns the tumour so that its terrible effects will never again be visited on the family. As Anne watches the fire consume the source of her father's pain, she discovers an appreciation for the mystery of the natural world and recognizes the rebirth symbolized by the ritual fire.
In Cree (with English subtitles) and English.
Availability
Subject categories
- Health and Medicine > Accidents, Emergencies and First AidCancerIndigenous PeoplesTreatment and Rehabilitation
- Social Issues > Health and IllnessIndigenous PeoplesSocial Problems
- Indigenous Peoples in Canada (First Nations and Métis) > Health and SafetySocial Conditions
- Families > Indigenous Families
Credits
- director
- Shirley Cheechoo
- script
- Shirley Cheechoo
- producer
- Jerry Krepakevich
- Shirley Cheechoo
- executive producer
- Shirley Cheechoo
- photography
- Daron Donahue
- sound
- Nick Huard
- editing
- Lenka Svab
- music
- Leland Bell
- Blake Debassige
- cast
- Elizabeth Trudeau
- Shirley Cheechoo
- Matthew Melting Tallow
- Jack Burning
- Deldon Amos
- Heather Rae
Awards
- Best Live Short Subject AwardAnnual American Indian Film Festival
- Special Showcase RecognitionVermont International Film Festival