The CBC has once again partnered with Tragically Hip frontman Gord Downie.

Just a few weeks after airing The Tragically Hip: A National Celebration, the livecast of the beloved band’s last collective tour stop – which 11.7 million Canadians watched at one point or another throughout the broadcast – the CBC has announced it will air a new animated film project from Downie.

The Secret Path, produced by eOne and Antica Productions, is inspired by the 10-song album Downie recorded with producers Kevin Drew and Dave Hamelin, as well as an 88-page graphic novel illustrated by Jeff Lemire, both of the same name.

The animated film, album and graphic novel all tell the story of Chanie Wenjack, a 12 year-old boy who froze to death 50 years ago after fleeing the Cecilia Jeffrey Indian Residential School near Kenora, Ont.

The CBC will air The Secret Path special on Oct. 23 at 9 p.m. on the fiftieth anniversary of the day Wenjack’s body was discovered.

The film was created, written, and directed by Downie, composed by Downie with Kevin Drew and Dave Hamelin and illustrated by Lemire. It is executive produced by Mike Downie, Patrick Downie, Gord Downie, and Sarah Polley.

Photo Credit: David Bastedo/Mike Homer