CBC today announced that GORD DOWNIE’SSECRET PATH IN CONCERT will make its broadcast premiere on Sunday, October 22 at 9 p.m. (9:30 NT) on CBC and will also stream at cbc.ca/arts/secretpath, commemorating the 51st anniversary of Chanie Wenjack’s death. Filmed at Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto on October 21, 2016 with more than 30 members of the Wenjack family in attendance, the one-hour, commercial-free special captures Downie’s remarkable and emotional Secret Path live performance with musicians Kevin Drew (Broken Social Scene), Kevin Hearn (Barenaked Ladies), Josh Finlayson (Skydiggers) Dave Hamelin (The Stills) and Charles Spearin (Broken Social Scene), interwoven with intimate backstage moments and footage from The Secret Path animated film that premiered on CBC last October.
A multimedia project conceived by Gord and Mike Downie spanning a JUNO award-winning album and graphic novel by Jeff Lemire in addition to the animated film, Secret Path acknowledges a dark part of Canada’s history – the long-suppressed mistreatment of Indigenous children and families by the residential school system – with the hope of starting a national conversation and furthering reconciliation. Downie began Secret Path as 10 poems inspired by the story of Wenjack, a 12-year-old boy who died of exposure on October 22, 1966 in flight from the Cecilia Jeffrey Indian Residential School near Kenora, Ontario, walking home to the family he was taken from over 600 km away. In October 2016, Downie took the Secret Path on tour to sold-out audiences in Toronto, Ottawa and Halifax. Proceeds from the Secret Path project are being donated to the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation and the Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund .
CBC has also launched a collection of inspiring and thought-provoking short documentaries at cbc.ca/arts/secretpath, which highlight Canadians who have been inspired by Secret Path to undertake their own unique acts of reconciliation. From an elementary school class that wrote heartfelt letters to the Wenjack sisters and a high school theatre production inspired by the project, to a group of inmates who discovered how deeply they relate to Chanie’s story, this collection of digital shorts document the ongoing journey of reconciliation inspired by Wenjack and thousands of other victims and survivors of residential schools.
Produced by Antica Productions Ltd. in association Edgarland Films and CBC, GORD DOWNIE’S SECRET PATH IN CONCERT is executive produced by Mike Downie, Gord Downie, Patrick Downie, Patrick Sambrook, Craig Baines and Stuart Coxe.
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About CBC/Radio-Canada
CBC/Radio-Canada is Canada’s national public broadcaster and one of its largest cultural institutions. We are Canada’s trusted source of news, information and Canadian entertainment. Deeply rooted in communities all across the country, CBC/Radio-Canada offers diverse content in English, French and eight Indigenous languages. We also provide international news and information from a uniquely Canadian perspective. In 2017, CBC/Radio-Canada will be at the heart of the celebrations and conversations with special 2017-themed multiplatform programming and events across Canada.
For more information, please contact:
Nicola Makoway, publicist, CBC
Nicola.Makoway@cbc.ca
