Experiencing Interruptions?

Silent Voices

Nine people killed and silenced by Portland police come back to life in this tender, angry, sometimes-hilarious play, Silent Voices, produced as a film due to COVID-19 restrictions. Each character is based on a person who was murdered by Portland police and they speak directly to the audience about their life and death. They are often interrupted by a chorus of three voices representing the audience, their words taken from comments posted online with news stories about the killings.

Silent Voices was created by Donna Hayes, local performers, a video team organized through Open Signal and K. Kendall. Open Signal donated the equipment, Portland Playhouse donated the space, and everyone else donated their time and skills.

In a recent interview, Donna Haynes elaborated further, “People need to know the truth that the person the police killed was a living, thriving person. They were alive. They had dreams, had hopes, aspirations, and it was taken away from them.”

  • Donna Hayes
    Director
  • Kendall
    Producer
  • Olivia Louise
    Video Editing
  • Jessica Daughtry
    Camera Crew
  • Project Type:
    Experimental, Short, Other
  • Genres:
    Social Justice, Theater, Monologue, Play
  • Runtime:
    50 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    October 1, 2020
  • Production Budget:
    0 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
  • Open Signal Digital Premiere
    Portland, Oregon
    United States
  • 19th Oakland International Film Festival
    Oakland, California
    United States
    Official Selection
  • Portland Film Festival
    Portland, Oregon
    United States
    Official Selection
  • Drive-In Public Screening hosted by PNW Family Circle
  • Washington State University - Vancouver DocArt Series
    Vancouver, Washington
    United States
    March 13, 2026
Director Biography - Donna Hayes

Donna Hayes is the grandmother to Quanice “Moose” Haynes, a seventeen-year-old who died due to a deadly encounter with the police.

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Director Statement

Haynes shared that Silent Voices did not begin as a script. It began as private writing during grief. English was never her strongest subject, she explained, because she struggled with grammar, but she powered through with empathy.

“I have a great imagination. I have had that since I was a little kid,” Haynes said. “I can imagine anything, to me it helped out because I was able to take my imagination and put it in that person’s place, I could stand and understand.”