Then Sings My Soul
Ainsi chante mon âme
Susan Rodgers
2021
| 14 min 59 s
Short Documentary
English
A National Film Board of Canada Production
Selections and Awards
Official SelectionFIN Atlantic International Film Festival, Halifax, Canada (2021)
Official Selection Cinéfest Sudbury International Film Festival, Canada (2021)
Official SelectionCharlottetown Film Festival, P.-E.-I., Canada (2021)
Nomination - Short Subject - Non-FictionYorkton Film Festival, SK, Canada, 2022
Prince Edward Islander Chad Matthews is a singer-songwriter who once made a decent living fishing out of the tiny community of Northport. The long days on the water were often blissful, but sometimes gusts can blow a gale, and one day misery caught up to Chad and clung to him like a shadow.
These days Chad is a divorced father of four, a part-time fisherman and a much-loved Stompin’ Tom Connors tribute artist. In a rural town where making a living means only earning minimum wage, Susan Rodgers’ Then Sings My Soul follows Chad as he reaches for a guitar to help ease the pain.
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One-Liner and Two-Liner
Two liner:
Prince Edward Island singer and part-time fisherman Chad Matthews is a hardworking father of four and a Stompin’ Tom Connors tribute artist. In a rural town where making a living means only earning minimum wage, Then Sings My Soul follows Chad as he reaches for a guitar to help ease the pain.
One liner:
In a rural town where making a living means only earning minimum wage, Then Sings My Soul follows Stompin’ Tom Connors tribute artist Chad Matthews as he reaches for a guitar to help ease the pain.
Filmmaker Statement
I first met Chad Matthews on the set of my scripted feature film, Still The Water. I had cast him to play a fisherman but didn’t find out until he arrived on set that he had actually fished for more than 30 years. Chad came to me via his role as Stompin’ Tom Connors in a continuously sold-out dinner theatre show in Skinners Pond, Prince Edward Island. A friend said he was an actor. I had my doubts because as far as I knew, remote, rural western P.E.I. wasn’t known as a breeding ground for thespians. It was a land of farmers and fishers.
Over casual conversation, I quickly learned that Chad was not your typical West Prince fisherman. Like me, he sometimes feels like a square peg in a round hole. Life has not always been easy for him, and in his forties, he still harbors dreams of a bigger life.
I am a writer and filmmaker, and I also live in a remote area away from the creative hub of my province. From the very beginning, Chad and I understood each other’s frustrations and our desire for success in our chosen creative fields.
When I was a child, Stompin’ Tom’s tunes were in regular rotation on the local radio station, and I still recall my mother calling us kids into the kitchen to hear “Bud the Spud” when it came on the radio. We’d come running. I had heard a lot about the Stompin’ Tom Dinner Theatre in Skinners Pond. I decided to drive up west to see what the fuss and the sold-out shows were all about.
Chad is a local celebrity. At the show, it was quickly obvious why. It seemed natural for him to adopt Tom’s songs and character for a sometimes-intimidating audience of folks from all around the world. As Tom, he was captivating. I couldn’t help but see that he had raw talent and an electric persona on stage.
Chad has a gift that many in the world will never experience. He is one of thousands of local community entertainers who only ever glimpse and experience fame on a peripheral level, and who may only ever dream of the kind of success someone like Stompin’ Tom experienced. Yet in his local circle he heals many with his music, and I, for one, am glad.
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Team
Susan Rodgers
Writer, director
Photo
Photo : Buffie Boily Photographic Arts
Rohan Fernando
Producer
Photo
Photo : NFB
Annette Clarke
Executive Producer
Photo
Photo : Dave Howells
Credits
WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY
Susan Rodgers
FEATURING
Chad Matthews
WITH
Donnie Matthews
Phyllis Matthews
Joel Matthews
Nick Matthews
Zack Matthews
Dylan Matthews
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Oakar Myint
EDITED BY
Millefiore Clarkes
SOUND DESIGN BY
Allan Scarth
ORIGINAL MUSIC BY
Chris Corrigan
PRODUCED BY
Rohan Fernando
SOUND RECORDIST
Curtis MacNevin
ADDITIONAL CINEMATOGRAPHY
Andrew MacCormack
PRODUCTION MANAGER
Sharlene Kelly
PRODUCTION MANAGER TRAINEE
Donna Gorrill
DIGITAL MEDIA TECHNICIAN
Justin O’Hanley
ONLINE EDITOR AND COLOURIST
Robert Carrigan
VISUAL POST-PRODUCTION FACILITY
902 Post Inc.
RE-RECORDING
Shelley Craig
ADDITIONAL MUSICIANS
Trevor Grant
Isaac King
ADDITIONAL MUSIC
“I Am The Wind”
Written & composed by Stompin’ Tom Connors
Performed by Stompin’ Tom Connors
Courtesy of Anthem Entertainment
“Bud The Spud”
Written & composed by Stompin’ Tom Connors
Performed by Chad Matthews
Courtesy of Anthem Entertainment
“Amazing Grace”
Performed by Chad Matthews
Written by John Newton
1772
“How Great Thou Art”
Performed by Chad Matthews
Written by Carl Boberg
1885
Visual and Sound Archives Courtesy of
Anthem Entertainment
CBC Archives
THANK YOU
Nance Ackerman
Terry Adams
Pauline Arsenault
Norma Black
Wade Carragher
Gerry Cobham
Tom Connors Jr.
Donna Davies
Rodney Delaney
Dot Doucette
Aggie Gaudet
Sandra Gaudette
Darlene Getson
Dave Gillis
Joanne Keefe
Floyd Keefe
Lois MacIsaac
Darrell MacLean
Linda Martin
Ariel Nasr
Wanda Nolan
Colleen Parker
Sue Ella Perry
Steve Perry
Irene Phillips
Susan Shae
Justin Simms
Patti Sweet
Alberton Bakery
Bloomfield Community Centre
Hernewood Intermediate School
Iron Haven Gym
Mill River Resort
Northport Marina
Reverend WJ Phillips Retirement Centre
St. Anthony’s Parish
Stompin’ Tom Centre
PRODUCTION SUPERVISOR
Roz Power
TECHNICAL COORDINATORS
Daniel Lord
Christopher MacIntosh
SOUND TECHNICIAN
Bernard Belley
SENIOR PRODUCTION COORDINATOR
Anna MacLean
STUDIO ADMINISTRATOR
Leslie Anne Poyntz
ASSOCIATE PRODUCER
Jayde Tynes
MARKETING MANAGER
Kay Rondonneau
PUBLICIST
Jenn Mair
LEGAL COUNSEL
Peter Kallianiotis
Julie Patry
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, QUEBEC & ATLANTIC STUDIO
Annette Clarke
A National Film Board of Canada Production

© 2021 National Film Board of Canada
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