Film Lens
Mum's the Word is a Canadian documentary short film directed by Paul Carrière, focusing on four Franco-Ontarian women—Rachel, Suzanne, Jeannine, and Paulette—who are in their mid-40s and living in Sudbury, Ontario. The film captures their experiences as they come out as lesbian after years of marriage and raising children. It presents their personal stories, emphasizing their identities and the societal context of their lives in the 1990s.
The film premiered at the Montreal World Film Festival in August 1996 and went on to screen at the 1996 Toronto International Film Festival and the Cinéfest Sudbury International Film Festival. It won the Genie Award for Best Short Documentary Film at the 17th Genie Awards. In 2017, it received a 20th anniversary screening at Sudbury's Queer North Film Festival, where Paulette Gagnon participated in media interviews to promote the event before her passing later that year.
Why Watch
- •Meet Rachel, Suzanne, Jeannine, and Paulette in Sudbury.
- •See the 1996 context of coming out as lesbian.
- •Find out about Paulette Gagnon's later involvement in media.
Did You Know
•The film was released on September 10, 1996.
•Mum's the Word won the Genie Award for Best Short Documentary Film.
•Paulette Gagnon was the only woman whose full name is known.
•The film was screened at the 1996 Toronto International Film Festival.
Perfect For
LGBTQ+ historyFranco-Ontarian cultureCanadian documentary fans