World Premiere
At the end of an unsuccessful fishing trip, a small trawler’s desperate captain and crew ultimately agree they have to do something risky, but potentially lucrative, to change their fortune. There are high stakes and lots of high drama in this tale about tough decisions and moral dilemmas. We are quickly immersed in the world of the boat, fabulously created by lush cinematography, excellent performances, and outstanding production and sound design. Though the story is based on a simple premise, the script is fantastic, and with echoes of Leviathan, it soon heads off into dangerous waters. The Silent Ones is an exhilarating and haunting adventure ride that doesn’t back away from the difficult choices, no matter how right or wrong the outcome may be.
Community Partner
Arieh Worthalter, Thierry Barbet, Arnaud Duléry, Hugo Simon, François Gillerot
France/Belgium/Switzerland
2022
In French with English subtitles
Featured in:
International Shorts: Morality Plays
Morals are being challenged on many fronts. The protagonists in this program of short films are all faced with difficult moral choices and they don’t always make the right decisions.
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
Late Fame
Based on a novella by Arthur Schnitzler (Eyes Wide Shut) this is a sly, poignant comedy about vanity and art from director Kent Jones, starring Willem Dafoe as a mailman belatedly acclaimed for a book of poetry he wrote in his youth.
Memory of Princess Mumbi
In 2093, a filmmaker arrives in the African village of Umata, where he meets Princess Mumbi, a woman torn between love, legacy, and the future of storytelling. It's a fabulous genre-blending fable about memory, invention and cinematic resistance.
Lessons of Darkness
Werner Herzog's unforgettable documentary reveals the unfolding disaster of the Kuwaitian oil fields in flames in 1991 as a sweeping inferno of mesmerizing power.
Beau Travail
Inspired by Herman Melville's Billy Budd, Claire Denis' transfixing Beau Travail is set in East Africa. Sgt Galoup (Denis Lavant) reflects on his time in the French Foreign Legion, and the impact of the handsome Sentain (Gregoire Colin).
But I'm a Cheerleader
Megan (Natasha Lyonne) is the perfect All-American Girl, or so she thinks. That is until she’s shipped off to conversion therapy. This pitch black comedy is wrapped in a saccharine bow, featuring the icon herself, RuPaul, as a conversion counsellor.
Credits
Producer
Samuel Feller, Thomas Guentch, Arnaud S. Gantenbein
Screenwriter
Blandine Jet, Basile Vuillemin
Cinematography
Olivier Boonjing
Editor
Christophe Evrard
Production Design
Pierre Guerin
Original Music
Michael Chapon
Director
Basile Vuillemin
Basile Vuillemin lives between Brussels and Paris. He studied cinema at Institut des Arts de Diffusion in Belgium and graduated with a Master’s in Cinema Fiction in 2016. His previous shorts have been presented in numerous international festivals and feature graphic composition and his passion for working with actors.