Browse Films

Tell a Friend

Silences

by Octavio Warnock-Graham

What happens when an interracial person's identity is denied by his white family and friends?

Watch Trailer

Synopsis
Reviews
awards/screenings
Study resources

Set in Maumee, Ohio, an idyllic Midwestern suburb with manicured lawns and historic homes, 'Silences' follows the filmmaker's journey to understand his mother, Harriet Warnock, and her refusal to discuss the circumstances of his birth. The camera captures one family's inner demons -- one mention of Warnock-Graham's half-black parentage nearly gives his white grandmother a heart attack. Warnock-Graham's family embodies the denial found in multicultural families across the country, and reminds us that the ideal of racial purity persists in America.

quote A documentary about race, family and identity,... Silences is a thought-provoking and often humorous examination of the reluctance on the part of the directors family to acknowledge that he is biracial.
Rand Pitman
Video Librarian
full review

quote One of those rare films that makes you feel simultaneously supportive and angry and keeps you thinking long after the credits roll.

Essential for academic and high school collections and is strongly recommended for public libraries.
Courtney Deines-Jones
Library Journal
full review

quote Amidst the diverse range of selections, Silences stands out as one of the festival's best documentaries... reminding me how the ideal of racial purity persists in America.
Nijla Mumin
KQED Arts and Culture
full review

quote Silences is a must see for anyone wanting a deeper insight into race, family and identity.
Heather Dalmage, author of Tripping on the Color Line: Black-White Multiracial Families in a Racially Divided World.

full review

quote ...the work speaks meaningfully to the issues of exploring family connections and interracial attitudes.
Larry Nyman Ph.D. Associate Professor Emeritus The City College of New York