A Peculiar Silence tells the story of playwright Liza Jessie Peterson, whose acclaimed play "The Peculiar Patriot" was shut down mid-performance at the Louisiana State Penitentiary, commonly known as Angola Prison.

Directed and edited by Cinque Northern, produced by Catherine Gund, featuring Liza Jessie Peterson and Norris Henderson (Peterson and Henderson are also Executive Producers), the film examines how one woman's play challenged the country's largest prison-plantation and impacted the men long after the record of her visit was erased by the institution's administration. 

Part of our Short Docs 1: DIFFERENCE Program

Director Cinque Northern

Director's Biography:

Cinque is an artist, filmmaker and editor who's passionate about the intersect of cinematic artistry and social impact. He spent eighteen years as a documentary editor for film and television and has earned international recognition directing both narrative and documentary work.

Cinque worked internationally as a videographer and photographer and served as an adjunct professor at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts where he holds an MFA in Filmmaking.

Recent works include The One and Only Dick Gregory (Showtime) executive produced by Kevin Hart and Lena Waithe for which Cinque was story producer, field director and editor.

Cinque also co wrote and edited My Name is Pauli Murray (Amazon Studios) for the Academy Award nominated directors of RBG, Betsy West and Julie Cohen. My Name is Pauli Murray premiered at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival and is currently streaming on Amazon Prime.

(English subtitles)