"The Lesser Blessed is my favorite film of TIFF, amongst considerable competition."

The Lesser Blessed

Director: Anita Doron

Principle Cast: Benjamin Bratt, Joel Evans, Kiowa Gordon, Chloe Rose, Tamara Podemski, Adam Butcher, Spencer Van Wyck

Distributor: eOne Films

Length: 86 Minutes

Capsule Review by: Kindah Mardam Bey

Concept: A teenage boy named Larry lives up in the Northwest Territories and being a strong-silent type narrates to the audience his love for Juliet Hope. When a mysterious new student arrives and sticks up for Larry, they quickly become friends. We see at the start of the film Larry has third-degree burns across his torso and we are immediately drawn into this intriguing story as to why Larry is the way he is.

Thoughts: Director, Anita Doron, weaves an incredibly current, visually stunning, poetic, heart-aching and dramatic story that both cuts to the core of the human experience and resonates with a first people's experience today. You couldn't ask for a more thematically sophisticated story and admirably directed film. The Lesser Blessed is my favorite film of TIFF, amongst considerable competition. Consider this the underdog I am championing this year.