After the release of their book Noir Canada in 2008, Alain Deneault, his co-writers and publisher Éditions Écosociété are sued for defamation by giant Canadian mining companies Barrick Gold and Banro. Despite the financial disparity between the parties, the intrepid defendants decide to fight. In Silence Is Gold, filmmaker Julien Fréchette chronicles the years of judicial proceedings and the mounting psychological tensions that accompany them. This is a thriller of a documentary shot behind the scenes of Canada’s justice system—a film that raises troubling questions about the controversial practices of Canadian mining companies in Africa.