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A Quiet Girl

Une fille tranquille
Adrian Wills
2023 | 86 min 15 s
Documentary
English

Awards and Festivals

  • Official SelectionBelleville Downtown DocFest, Canada (2024)

  • Official SelectionAvailable Light Film Festival, Canada (2024)

  • Official SelectionAtlantic International Film Festival, Halifax, Nova Scotia (2023)

  • Nominee - Best Documentary Feature Silver Wave Film Festival, Canada (2023)

  • Official SelectionRendez-vous Québec Cinéma (2024)

A Quiet Girl – Full Trailer


A Quiet Girl – Promo Clip


Poster


LONG SYNOPSIS


ONE-LINER & TWO-LINER


INTERVIEW WITH ADRIAN WILLS

Excerpts

Excerpt 1 - Adrian discusses the concept of truth with author Michael Crummey.


Excerpt 2 - Adrian talks with a retired adoption counsellor about the mysteries surrounding his birth.


Excerpt 3 - Adrian tries to find information on his birth father.



Images


Filmmaker Adrian Wills' birth mother, Mary Margaret.

Baby hospital bracelets from a foster home in Newfoundland.

Filmmaker Adrian Wills in Newfoundland.

Filmmaker Adrian Wills and his sister as children.

Newfoundland's coastline.

Filmmaker Adrian Wills talking to Norm, a friend of his birth mother.

Filmmaker Adrian Wills in Greenspond, Newfoundland.

Childhood photo of Adrian Wills' birth mother, Mary Margaret.

Filmmaker Adrian Wills and his aunt in Arizona.

Filmmaker Adrian Wills as a small child and his adoptive mother, Nina.

Team


Adrian Wills
Director


Photo
Photo : Annette Clarke




Annette Clarke
Producer and Executive Producer


Photo
Photo : Dave Howells




Rohan Fernando
Executive Producer


Photo
Photo : Meghan Tansey Whitton




John Christou
Executive Producer, Director of Production & Operations, Programming | Creation


Photo
Photo : NFB




Kelly Davis
Associate Producer


Photo
Photo : NFB



Credits

Written and Directed by
Adrian Wills

Edited by
Heidi Haines

Director of Photography
Van Royko

Additional Cinematography
Mario Janelle
John Walker

Original Music
Tim Baker

Lullaby for Mary Margaret
by Mara Pellerin

Sound Design
Sacha Ratcliffe

Researcher
Wanda Nolan

Produced by
Annette Clarke

Special thanks
Ellen Cousins Pellerin
Mara Pellerin
Johannah Cousins Malti
Walter Ungerer
Nina Wills
Kristin Wills Dahlen
Roland Burry
Shawn and Connie Burry
Michael Crummey
Jean Ann Farrell
Majors Bob and Cassie Kean
Lorraine Rideout
Anne Roane Sheldon
Linda Swain
Norm and Cavell Woodland

Camera Operators
Julio Alvarez
Simran Dewan
Lauren Guarneri
Mark O’Neill
Cody Westman

Location Sound Recording
Josh Owen

Additional Sound Recording
Don Ellis
Lisa Gage
Michelle Lacour
Scott Yates

Darkroom Photography
Bud Gaulton

Production Manager
Lynn Andrews

Transcription
Lori Heath
Tamara Segura

Foley
Karla Baumgardner

Foley Recording
Geoffrey Mitchell

Additional Sound Design
Isabelle Riche

Musicians
Tim Baker, pianos, organs, synths, guitars, banjos, voices
Mara Pellerin, voices

Additional Music
“Swimming Back”
“When I Meet My Mother”
“Greenspond”
“A Whole New Beginning”
“Mary’s Lighthouse”
“New Arizona Wind”
“Sainte Maries Waters”
All additional music by Tim Baker 2022
Courtesy of Plug Your Ears Publishing Ltd.

Visual Archives
CBC Archive Sales
NFB Archives
Adrian Wills
Walter Ungerer
Lorraine Rideout
Montreal Gazette, a division of Postmedia Network Inc.
Ottawa Citizen, a division of Postmedia Network Inc.
Time Magazine – PARS International Corp.
AC Hunter Library

Thank You
Brent Abbott
Elise Allen
Nicholas Aspinal & Cara Faith
Jishnu Banerjee and Julie Piesina
Rudolf and Nicole Benes
Marie France and Bruno Benes
Cathy Levy and Martin Bolduc
Luc Bourdon
Sergio Bubalo
Alison Burns
Craig Burry
Jeremy Charles
John and Janet Cheffins
Martin Cheffins
John Christou
Mercedes Clarke
Patricia T. Cleary
Major Rex Colbourne
Martin Cormier
Melissa Cranenburgh
Rosetta Crigna
Genevieve Dahlen
Marielle Dalpe
Janet Davis
Anthony and Lila Debono
Fred and Laura Debono
Michael Debono
Francis Delfour
Simran Dewan
Mark Dodwell
Barbara Doran
Sean Doran
Danae Elon
Gary Evans
Elisabeth Feltaous
Ray Fennelly
Jordan Ford
Giulia Frati
Karina Garcia
Mark Cohen and Tracie Gemmel
Larisa Gutmanis
Carrie Haber
Michael Crummey and Holly Hogan
Catherine Kalbfleisch
James Keyton
Duke and Fred Kelloway
Ray Kenny
Helene Klodawsky
Andy Gibson and Donna Kooi
Aleks Krawczyk and the family Krawczyk
Hanna Maria Laakso
Robert Lacerte
Elaine Larivière
Sébastien Tétrault
Lou and  Marie Christine Letourneux
Khim, Jun, Vanessa and Ben Len
Catherine Lejtenyi
Ken and Michelle Lejtenyi
Suzanne Lush
Korbett Matthews
Catherine Mckenzie
Shandi Mitchell
Jon Montes
Linda and Pat Mullaly
Isabelle, Mikha and Vivianne Murphy
Patrick Culhane
Samuel, Charlotte and Stephanie Murphy
Ariel Nasr
John, Vanessa and Jean Nicolai
Wanda Nolan
Michel Ouellette
Jeana Park
Wade Parsons
Romin Petros and family
Ron, Beth Ann and Krystin Pellerin
David Price
Menzel Rideout
Brett and Michael Rigby
Paula Roberts
Walter Ungerer and Dianna Rust
Rowan Salger
Tamara Segura
Lynne Shelton
Monique Simard
Justin Simms
Rick Stanley
Violet Sturge
Winnifred Sturge
Peter Svatek
Nicholas Synnott, Vanessa and family
Tasha Theophilos
Brigid Tierney
Glen Tilley
Thea and Devan Toole
Vincent Trundle
Geoff Uloth
Ami Vaillancourt
Theo and Rosa van der Muellen
Lina and Peter Vennix
Michelle and Ali Vennix
Tanja and Dustin Vennix
John Walker
Mary Walsh
Victoria Wells
Linda White
Aonan Yang
Ellie Yonova

City of St. John’s
College of the North Atlantic
Greenspond Historical Society
Montreal Adoption Services
NIFCO
Puffin Island Lightstation
The Salvation Army Gander Citadel
The Salvation Army New-Wes-Valley
Sault Ste Marie Police Department
Southcott Hall Centre for Nursing Studies
VOCM

Production Supervisor
Roz Power

Technical Coordinators
Daniel Lord
Christopher MacIntosh
André Solat

Graphics and Title Design
Mélanie Bouchard
Fred Casia
Alain Ostiguy

Online Editor
Serge Verreault

Digital editing technicians
Patrick Trahan
Pierre Dupont
Marie-Josée Gourde

Re-recording
Isabelle Lussier

Associate Producer
Kelly Davis

Studio Administrator
Leslie Anne Poyntz

Marketing Manager
Jamie Hammond

Publicist
Osas Eweka-Smith

Legal Counsel
Dominique Aubry

Executive Producers Quebec Atlantic Studio
Annette Clarke
John Christou
Rohan Fernando

Writers Guild of Canada
Directors Guild of Canada
Canadian Federation of Musicians

A Quiet Girl
nfb.ca
A National Film Board of Canada production
© 2023 The National Film Board of Canada



Press Relations

  • About the NFB

    Founded in 1939, the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) is a one-of-a-kind producer, co-producer and distributor of distinctive, engaging, relevant and innovative documentary and animated films. As a talent incubator, it is one of the world’s leading creative centres. The NFB has enabled Canadians to tell and hear each other’s stories for over eight decades, and its films are a reliable and accessible educational resource. The NFB is also recognized around the world for its expertise in preservation and conservation, and for its rich and vibrant collection of works, which form a pillar of Canada’s cultural heritage. To date, the NFB has produced more than 14,000 works, 6,500 of which can be streamed free of charge at nfb.ca. The NFB and its productions and co-productions have earned over 7,000 awards, including 11 Oscars and an Honorary Academy Award for overall excellence in cinema.