Former NHL hockey player Sheldon Kennedy was sexually abused by his junior hockey coach, and has since become one a leading advocate for victims of child abuse. During a speaking engagement at a University in Ontario, Canada, Sheldon met two students who disclosed the sexual abuse they had suffered as children to Sheldon and the audience. The film tells the story of these victims and the challenges they face while attempting to recover from the trauma they suffered as children.
Direction
Rofé lets silence speak louder than testimony.
Writing
Avoids exploitation by centering survivor agency throughout.
Director
Joshua Rofé
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Kennedy's 1996 revelation about Graham James helped crack open Canada's reckoning with hockey's culture of silence, though the film deliberately widens beyond sports.
The university disclosure scene was unplanned—director Rofé kept cameras rolling when students approached Kennedy after his talk, restructuring the entire film around this moment.
US
