
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
The Teacher
In this potent thriller, English teacher Basem witnesses the murder of a teenager by a Israeli settler. While the subsequent investigation rolls slowly towards a foregone conclusion, the teacher is caught up in a parallel kidnapping case...
Bob Trevino Likes It
When her toxic, narcissistic dad cuts her out of his life, Lily Trevino looks him up on Facebook and happens across his namesake, Bob (John Leguizamo), a gentle, genial contractor who lives nearby, and who proves an altogether better dad...
The Encampments
When pro-Palestine protests took hold of Columbia last year, the filmmakers were there from the beginning. This documentary charts the mounting tensions between students and the administration, as the protests were picked up across North America.
Shepherds
Mathyas quits his marketing job in Montreal and goes to France with the romantic notion of becoming a shepherd. He's in for a rude awakening... Based on a true story, Deraspe's stirring film plays spiritual uplift off against some 3000 sheep and a donkey.
Our Lady of the Nile
Veronica and Virginia are inseparable friends at an elite Catholic boarding school, Our Lady of the Nile, but what binds them together is the very thing that separates them forever. We are in Rwanda, 1973, and tribal tensions are simmering ominously.
Faces
Ten years after his landmark debut, Shadows, John Cassavetes returned to the indie model, self-financing this wrenching portrait of the sexual mores and miseries of American middle class. Gena Rowlands is luminous as Jeannie, the film's emotional barometer.
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.