The Lesser Blessed


The Lesser Blessed is a Canadian drama film, released in 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 teenager living in the Northwest Territories. The film's cast also includes Chloe Rose, Kiowa Gordon, Benjamin Bratt, Dylan Cook and Tamara Podemski. Despite being set in the Northwest Territories, the film was shot in Sudbury, Ontario.
The film premiered at the imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival in 2012 to critical acclaim. Doron garnered a Canadian Screen Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay at the 1st Canadian Screen Awards. The film later screened at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2012.

Plot

The film follows a shy teenager living in a small, remote community in the Northwest Territories of Canada and dealing with life as a high school student. The film explores several typical teen issues, such as alienation and the search for one's own identity, 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.

Cast

In February 2013, Monterey Media brought the United States distribution rights from Entertainment One. The film will be released in Toronto on May 31, 2013 and in Montreal, Winnipeg, Edmonton and Ottawa on June 7, 2013. The film was released in the United States on home entertainment on June 25, 2013.

Accolades

Doron garnered a Canadian Screen Award 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.

Festivals

The Lesser Blessed has screened at the following festivals: