Less Bland Productions

02/01/2025

Something sweet is happening this Valentine's Day!

𝑺𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒕 𝑺𝒖𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒓 𝑷𝒐𝒘 𝑾𝒐𝒘 - Sponsored by CHEK News
Join 𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐊'𝐬 𝐓𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐝𝐚𝐬 𝐋𝐞𝐨 at the screening
From the team that brought you 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑮𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕 𝑺𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒉 𝑯𝒆𝒊𝒔𝒕:
The world premiere at the Victoria Film Festival follows a young Indigenous couple as they get a break from their troubled lives when they find each other through a summer of love on the Pow-Wow circuit.
🗓️ 19+ screening on February 14, Friday at 7:30 pm
📍 Cinecenta Films
🎟️ Ticket link: https://www.victoriafilmfestival.com/product/sweet-summer/

01/18/2025

Sweet Summer Pow Wow Poster!

Sweet Summer Pow Wow is our upcoming coming-of-age romance feature. We had a lovely time filming in the beautiful Cowichan Valley of BC with our amazing cast & crew ✨

Featuring Greene, Darrell Dennis () offers a deeply personal exploration of love, identity, and tradition.

Jinny ( Rose Baptiste) lives on the Shuswap Reserve. Her diabetic mother Cara () is the Chief and expects her daughter to get a law degree, return home. and follow in her footsteps. Jinny agrees to spend her last summer on the Pow Wow circuit with her mother. But Jinny loves contemporary dancing, not Native fancy dancing.
On another nearby Reserve, lives Riley. His single dad is a drunk. Luckily for Riley, his Uncle Luke invites him to join his drum group on the Pow Wow circuit. This world premiere at the Victoria Film Festival follows Jinny and Riley as they get a break from their troubled lives when they find each other through a summer of love on the Pow-Wow circuit.

We are so excited for the film to make its debut at the Victoria Film Festival February 14th at 7:30 pm at Cinecenta on the UVic campus 🎞️

Advance Tickets: https://www.victoriafilmfestival.com/product/sweet-summer/

01/14/2025

Great to have Valerie as part of the team!

We are pleased to introduce Valerie Houle, a new member of the Orca Cove Media and Less Bland Productions team! 👏🎥

Her responsibilities include development coordination, providing production support, and assisting Producer Leslie Bland.

Born and raised on the traditional lands of the Quw’utsun (Cowichan) people, Valerie has over 25 years of experience working in Canadian Theatre on over 100 productions 🎞️

Previously the Producer at Victoria's Belfry Theatre, she has worked as a Producer, Company Manager and Artist Liaison as well as in Stage Management, Development, Marketing & Publicity. Favourite productions with the Belfry include Little Red Warrior & His Lawyer by Kevin Loring (2022 World Premiere), As Above by Christine Quintana (2024 World Premiere), Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes by Hannah Moscovitch, The Ministry of Grace by Tara Beagan, Forget About Tomorrow by Jill Daum (2018 World Premiere) and The Children’s Republic by Hannah Moscovitch.
She has worked on numerous acclaimed productions that have been honoured with Jessie Richardson Awards, Dora Mavor Moore Awards, and Betty Mitchell Awards.

Valerie is a graduate of the University of Victoria with a BFA in Theatre. She is a certified yoga instructor. She is fluent in French, Spanish and is currently learning Italian.

01/14/2025

We are pleased to introduce Valerie Houle, a new member of the Orca Cove Media and Less Bland Productions team! 👏🎥

Her responsibilities include development coordination, providing production support, and assisting Producer Leslie Bland.

Born and raised on the traditional lands of the Quw’utsun (Cowichan) people, Valerie has over 25 years of experience working in Canadian Theatre on over 100 productions 🎞️

Previously the Producer at Victoria's Belfry Theatre, she has worked as a Producer, Company Manager and Artist Liaison as well as in Stage Management, Development, Marketing & Publicity. Favourite productions with the Belfry include Little Red Warrior & His Lawyer by Kevin Loring (2022 World Premiere), As Above by Christine Quintana (2024 World Premiere), Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes by Hannah Moscovitch, The Ministry of Grace by Tara Beagan, Forget About Tomorrow by Jill Daum (2018 World Premiere) and The Children’s Republic by Hannah Moscovitch.
She has worked on numerous acclaimed productions that have been honoured with Jessie Richardson Awards, Dora Mavor Moore Awards, and Betty Mitchell Awards.

Valerie is a graduate of the University of Victoria with a BFA in Theatre. She is a certified yoga instructor. She is fluent in French, Spanish and is currently learning Italian.

01/10/2025

It’s here!
Sweet Summer Pow Wow - Official Trailer.

A new feature film by our partner company, Orca Cove Media. Follow along for more details about its premiere at the Victoria Film Festival next month!

01/04/2025

01/04/2025

A great year for Less Bland Productions, and so much more to come in 2025.! We are so grateful for all the opportunities and support this year.

A recap:
- My Pet Assassin from Bland of Brothers Profuctions became available for streaming on CBC Gem.
- Producer Leslie D. Bland attended the European Film Market in Berlin, the CPH:DOX Documentary Festival & Market in Copenhagen, and the MIPTV and MIPCOM Media Markets in Cannes.
- Filmed a play workshop headed by Jennifer Wise & Mariel Belanger, making space for the voices of Indigenous Peoples and Persons with Disabilities to be heard.
- Our partner company, had a successful national roll out of the film The Great Salish Heist, the first indigenous heist film ever made. Featuring Graham Greene, Ashley Callingbull, and Tricia Helfer.
- We completed post production on Orca Cove Media’s coming of age romance Sweet Summer Pow Wow featuring Graham Greene
- Orcacovemedia began production of a feature documentary Tzinquaw Opera,which investigates the breaking bonds of the Indian Act’s cultural oppression through the Tzinquaw Opera’s acclaim in the 1940-50’s, leading to the present day revitalization of Cowichan culture

Cheers to 2025!

#2025

11/22/2024

Lots of fireworks and tasty treats, literally and metaphorically, at MIPCOM (International TV Market) back in October with distributors, broadcasters, streamers, and fellow producers📽🎆

An amazing market held in Cannes each year with great people! 🥳✈️

11/20/2024

Our partner company, Orca Cove Media, behind the scenes of filming Tzinquaw Opera.

11/11/2024

Behind the scenes of filming for our upcoming feature documentary, Tzinquaw Opera with our partner company Orca Cove Media. Filming was done at the Alix Goolden Hall at the Victoria Conservatory of Music 🎼

11/07/2024

A great time at the US Premiere of The Great Salish Heist at the 2024 Global Stage Hollywood Film Festival last Saturday. Surreal to see the film play at the TLC Chinese Theatre! 🌴🎞️

10/31/2024

See you THIS SATURDAY, Hollywood! 🌴🍿
We cannot wait for the US Premiere of , by our partner company Orca Cove Media at the TLC Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles.

The Great Salish Heist will be screening at Global Stage Hollywood THIS Saturday, November 2nd at 12pm noon 🎥⏰

🎟Buy your Last-Minute Tickets Here:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-great-salish-heist-us-premiere-tickets-1039737090627?aff=oddtdtcreator

🌴Check out the Global Stage Hollywood Schedule at:
https://www.globalstagehollywood.com/event-details

10/30/2024

Images from our filming day of Tzinquaw Opera on October 26th w/ our partner Company Orca Cove Media 🎥

We filmed the Tzinquaw Dance Group out in a war canoe, along with dancing & singing around an evening bonfire 🌲🪵

Ft. Producers Harold C. Joe, Leslie D. Bland, Camera Operator/Editor Gavin Andrews and the Tzinquaw Dance Group.

10/20/2024

Looking forward to seeing LA friends at the screening of The Great Salish Heist in Hollywood with Orca Cove Media!

Our US Premiere at the TLC Chinese Theatre in Hollywood!
The Great Salish Heist will be screening at Global Stage Hollywood on Saturday, November 2nd at 12pm noon 🍿🎞️🌴

TCL Chinese Theatre
6925 Hollywood Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90028

Buy Tickets Here: 🎟️
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-great-salish-heist-us-premiere-tickets-1039737090627?aff=oddtdtcreator

Check out the Global Stage Hollywood Schedule at:
https://www.globalstagehollywood.com/event-details

09/29/2024

Edmonton friends -- it's not too late. Due to demand, The Great Salish Heist is screening two more times at Cineplex South Edmonton Common tonight Sept 29th at 7 pm and tomorrow Sept 30th at 7 pm in honour of National Truth and Reconciliation Day! Please spread the word, and thank you for all the amazing support!

THIS WEEKEND - ADDED SCREENINGS IN EDMONTON! ⭐️

Cineplex has added TWO more screenings of The Great Salish Heist in Edmonton.

📍South Edmonton Commons, Cineplex Theatre
📆Saturday, Sept 29th & Monday, Sept 30th
⏰7pm

Advanced Tickets Here: https://www.cineplex.com/en/movie/the-great-salish-heist

09/26/2024

Tzinquaw! This Friday Night!

THIS FRIDAY! ⭐🎟
Join us in a special celebration of the Tzinquaw Opera.
This event will be held on Friday, September 27th in Cowichan, BC 🎥

Details:
At the Cowichan Performing Arts Centre
Friday, Sept 27th at 7:00 pm
All tickets are $15.00 🎟

Through the traditional story, music, and dance of today’s Tzinquaw Dance Group, we celebrate the creation of the Tzinquaw Opera in the 1940’s-50’s and its widespread acclaim, leading to the present-day revitalization of Cowichan culture 🧡

This event will be filmed as part of production of our latest feature documentary Tzinquaw Opera.

09/26/2024

Producer Leslie Bland featured on CineVic Society of Independent Filmmakers podcast. :)

What does it take to produce three feature documentaries, a feature comedy, and have two more in the works? Producer Leslie Bland shares the “special sauce” that’s made his production companies Orca Cove Media and Less Bland Productions so successful. There’s plenty to learn as he tells host Joyce Kline why filmmaking pulled him away from a successful career in live professional theatre, how he made cross-cultural connections through his collaboration with Cowichan filmmaker Harold Joe, and how, in a competitive world, sticking with original IP can lead to success.

🔊 Listen to the new episode of Push In - The CineVic Podcast on your favourite podcast app or at http://cinevic.buzzsprout.com 🎧

LESLIE BLAND’s film and TV work has been featured on Bell Media, Discovery Networks, Amazon, Super Channel, Knowledge Network, FNX, Télé Quebec, Hollywood Suite, APTN, and streamers and broadcasters in New Zealand, France, China, Australia and around the world. His award-winning, feature length documentary Gone South: How Canada Invented Hollywood featured interviews with celebrities Howie Mandel, Neve Campbell, David Foster, David Shore, Shannon Tweed and the late Alex Trebek.

Less Bland Productions Orca Cove Media