''A Scream from Silence'' () is a 1979 Canadian

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by Anne Claire Poirier and starring Julie Vincent. It competed in the

Un Certain Regard (; 'A Certain Glance') is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's official selection. It is run at the Debussy, parallel to the competition for the . This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob. The section presents 20 films with unusua ...

section at the

1979 Cannes Film Festival The 32nd Cannes Film Festival took place from 10 to 24 May 1979. French writer Françoise Sagan served as jury president for the main competition. The ''Palme d'Or'', the festival's top prize, was jointly awarded to ''Apocalypse Now'' by Francis ...

. The film was selected as the Canadian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the

52nd Academy Awards The 52nd Academy Awards ceremony, organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored films released in 1979 and took place on April 14, 1980, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, beginning at 6:00 p ...

, but was not accepted as a nominee. It was later screened at the 1984 Festival of Festivals as part of Front & Centre, a special retrospective program of artistically and culturally significant films from throughout the history of Canadian cinema. Carole Corbeil, "The stars are coming out for Toronto's film festival". ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'', September 6, 1984.

Plot

A young nurse named Suzanne is kidnapped, assaulted, and brutally raped in the back of a truck by a

misogynist Misogyny () is hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against women or girls. It is a form of sexism that can keep women at a lower social status than men, thus maintaining the social roles of patriarchy. Misogyny has been widely practised ...

stranger. The nurse's rape and the aftermath are part of a film which a director and her editor are working on. From time to time, they pause the film to discuss their intentions and reactions to the film they are making. Mixed in with the story is documentary footage of the stories of other women who have been raped around the world.

Cast

* Julie Vincent as Suzanne *

Germain Houde Germain Houde (born December 14, 1952) is a Genie Award-winning Canadian actor from Petit-Saguenay, Quebec. He has usually played tough-guy parts; his screen characters have ranged from cruel criminals to corrupt policemen. A graduate of the Con ...

as Le violeur *

Paul Savoie Paul Savoie (born May 21, 1946) is a Canadian actor from Quebec. He is most noted for his performance in the 2015 film '' The Diary of an Old Man (Le Journal d’un vieil homme)'', for which he was a Prix Iris Prix was an American power pop ban ...

as Philippe *

Monique Miller Monique Miller, (born 9 December 1933) is a French Canadian actress. She is known for her live theatre performances, and also performs in films and on television. She is the sister of actress Louise Remy. Career In 1951 Miller performed in th ...

as La réalisatrice *

Micheline Lanctôt Micheline Lanctôt (born May 12, 1947) is a Canadian actress, film director, screenwriter, and musician. Biography Lanctôt was born in Frelighsburg, Quebec. Her post-secondary education was in music, fine arts, and theatre at ''Collège Jés ...

as La monteuse * Luce Guilbeault as Une cliente * Christiane Raymond as La disciple *

Louise Portal Louise Portal (born May 12, 1950) is a Canadian actress, film director, singer and writer. She won the Genie Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the film ''The Decline of the American Empire'', and was a nominee for Best Actress f ...

as La comédienne * Muriel Dutil as L'epouse (as Murielle Dutil) * Julie Morand as La secrétaire * Pierre Gobeil as Le policier * Jean-Pierre Masson as Voice *

Michèle Mercure Michele () is an Italian male given name, akin to the English male name Michael. Michele (usually pronounced ), is also an English female given name that is derived from the French Michèle. It is a variant spelling of the more common (and iden ...

as La soeur de Philippe * Léo Munger as Une violée * André Pagé as Le gynécologue

Production

The film had a budget of $362,861 ().

Release

The film was shown by the

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is the Canadian Public broadcasting, public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a Crown corporation that serves as the national public broadcaster, with its E ...

on 10 April 1980.

References

Works cited

External links

* * 1979 films 1979 drama films 1979 independent films 1970s feminist films Films directed by Anne Claire Poirier National Film Board of Canada films Films scored by Maurice Blackburn Films about filmmaking Films about rape Films about violence against women Medical-themed films Canadian drama films Canadian independent films French-language Canadian films 1970s Canadian films {{1970s-drama-film-stub