ACMI would like to acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the lands and waterways of greater Melbourne, the people of the Kulin Nation, and recognise that ACMI is located on the lands of the Wurundjeri people.

First Nations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) people should be aware that this website may contain images, voices, or names of deceased persons in photographs, film, audio recordings or text.

We sing more than we cry

Canada, 1975

Film
Please note

Sorry, we don't have images or video for this item.

For two centuries Acadians have been reliving the legacy of exile left to them by their ancestors in 1755. Here, following a brief look at that tragic legacy, are expressions in word, song and music of the present-day struggle to maintain a viable cultural identity. They include the bitter outpourings of Acadian youth, and the humorous music of happy old-timers who sing and fiddle in the traditional style of Acadian folk music. The theme song is performed by well-known singer Edith Butler, herself an Acadian.

Content notification

Our collection comprises over 40,000 moving image works, acquired and catalogued between the 1940s and early 2000s. As a result, some items may reflect outdated, offensive and possibly harmful views and opinions. ACMI is working to identify and redress such usages.

Learn more about our collection and our collection policy here. If you come across harmful content on our website that you would like to report, let us know.

How to watch

This work has not been digitised and is currently unavailable to view online. It may be possible for approved reseachers to view onsite at ACMI.

Learn more about accessing our collection

Collection

In ACMI's collection

Credits

director

John Smith

production company

ONF | NFB

Duration

00:16:07:00

Production places
Canada
Production dates
1975

Collection metadata

ACMI Identifier

311840

Language

English

Subject categories

Documentary

Documentary → Documentary films - Canada

Economics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion & Sociology → Cultural relativism

Economics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion & Sociology → Culture - Social aspects

Economics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion & Sociology → Ethnology

Music & Performing Arts → Folk music - Canada

Performance

Performance → Music - Performance

Short films

Short films → Short films - Canada

Sound/audio

Sound

Colour

Colour

Holdings

16mm film; Access Print (Section 1)

Please note: this archive is an ongoing body of work. Sometimes the credit information (director, year etc) isn’t available so these fields may be left blank; we are progressively filling these in with further research.

Cite this work on Wikipedia

If you would like to cite this item, please use the following template: {{cite web |url=https://acmi.net.au/works/89171--we-sing-more-than-we-cry/ |title=We sing more than we cry |author=Australian Centre for the Moving Image |access-date=18 July 2025 |publisher=Australian Centre for the Moving Image}}