''The Lesser Blessed'' is a Canadian drama film, released in 2012.

CBC News CBC News is the division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the news gathering and production of news programs on the corporation's English-language operations, namely CBC Television, CBC Radio, CBC News Network, and CBC ...

, October 22, 2012. The film was written and directed by Anita Doron and is based on the novel of the same name by Richard Van Camp, the film stars Joel Evans as Larry Sole, a young

Tłı̨chǫ The Tłı̨chǫ (, ) people, sometimes spelled Tlicho and also known as the Dogrib, are a Dene First Nations people of the Athabaskan-speaking ethnolinguistic group living in the Northwest Territories of Canada. Name The name ''Dogrib' ...

teenager living in the

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories is a federal Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada. At a land area of approximately and a 2021 census population of 41,070, it is the second-largest and the most populous of Provinces and territorie ...

. The film's cast also includes Chloe Rose,

Kiowa Gordon Kiowa Joseph Gordon is a Native American actor of Hualapai heritage. He is best known for his role as shapeshifter Embry Call in ''The Twilight Saga (film series), The Twilight Saga,'' as well as Junior in the TV series ''The Red Road (TV series ...

Benjamin Bratt Benjamin Bratt (born December 16, 1963) is an American actor. He is known for playing Paco Aguilar in '' Blood in Blood Out''. He had supporting film roles in the 1990s in ''Demolition Man'' (1993), ''Clear and Present Danger'' (1994) and '' ...

, Dylan Cook and

Tamara Podemski Tamara Podemski (born October 16, 1977) is a Canadian film and television actress and writer.Rick Garrick"Indigenous multidisciplinary artist to host 13th Annual Outside Looking In Gala in Toronto this Spring" ''Anishinabek News'', March 9, 2020. ...

. Despite being set in the Northwest Territories, the film was shot in

Sudbury Sudbury may refer to: Places Australia * Sudbury Reef, Queensland Canada * Greater Sudbury, Ontario ** Sudbury (federal electoral district) ** Sudbury (provincial electoral district) ** Sudbury Airport ** Sudbury Basin, a meteorite impact cra ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

. The film premiered at the

imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival The imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival is the world's largest Indigenous film and media arts festival, held annually in Toronto. The festival focuses on the film, video, radio, and new media work of Indigenous, Aboriginal and First People ...

in 2012 to critical acclaim. Doron garnered a

Canadian Screen Award The Canadian Screen Awards () are awards given for artistic and technical merit in the film industry recognizing excellence in Canadian film, English-language television, and digital media ( web series) productions. Given annually by the Academy ...

nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay at the 1st Canadian Screen Awards."'Rebelle' and 'Flashpoint' lead nominees for Canadian Screen Awards"

CTV News CTV News is the news division of the CTV Television Network in Canada. The name ''CTV News'' is also applied as the title of local and regional newscasts on the network's owned-and-operated stations (O&Os), which are closely tied to the nationa ...

, January 15, 2012. The film later screened at the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the most prestigious and largest publicly attended film festivals in the world. Founded in 1976, the festival takes place every year in early September. The organi ...

in 2012."The Lesser Blessed - Contemporary World Cinema"

, February 6, 2013.

Plot

The film follows a shy teenager living in a remote community in the

of Canada, while dealing with life as a high school student. The film explores several teen-focused issues, such as alienation and the search for one's own

identity Identity may refer to: * Identity document * Identity (philosophy) * Identity (social science) * Identity (mathematics) Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Identity'' (1987 film), an Iranian film * ''Identity'' (2003 film), an ...

, but in this case from the perspective of a Dogrib Indian who struggles between his Native ancestry and finding his place in to the modern world.Cupryn, Isabel
"Interview: Director Anita Doron talks 'The Lesser Blessed"
. ''Criticize This!'', May 27, 2013.

Cast

as Jed * Joel Evans as Larry Sole *

as Johnny Beck * Chloe Rose as Juliet Hope * Adam Butcher as Darcy McManus *Krista Bridges as Auntie *

as Verna Sole *Spencer Van Wyck as Kevin Garner *Dylan Cook as Mustache Sammy *Jacob Neayem as Clarence Jerome

Release

In February 2013, Monterey Media brought the United States distribution rights from

Entertainment One Lionsgate Canada is a Canadian entertainment company and a subsidiary of Lionsgate Studios. Based in Toronto, the company is primarily involved in the acquisition and production of films and television series. The company began on June 1, 1973 ...

. The film was released in Toronto on May 31, 2013, and in Montréal, Winnipeg, Edmonton and Ottawa the week after. The film was released in the United States on home entertainment (DVD and Video on Demand) on June 25, 2013.

Accolades

Doron garnered a

nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay at the 1st Canadian Screen Awards. Kiowa Gordon won best supporting actor at American Indian Film Festival for his role in the film.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lesser Blessed, The 2012 films Canadian drama films English-language Canadian films First Nations films Films shot in Greater Sudbury Films set in the Northwest Territories 2012 drama films 2010s English-language films 2010s Canadian films BayView Entertainment films