The Boys of St. Vincent

Director John N. Smith
Year 1992
Run Time 186min
Genre Drama
This hard-hitting miniseries was based on real events that took place at the Mount Cashel Orphanage in St. John’s, Newfoundland, in Canada’s largest sexual abuse scandal.

At the heart of this powerful film is a remarkable performance by Henry Czerny as Brother Peter Lavin, who transformed his own difficult childhood into a cycle of abuse and pain for others in his charge. Director John N. Smith grapples with this difficult subject with remarkable sensitivity and honesty, turning a dark chapter in Canada’s history into a thoughtful and affecting docudrama.

Director

John N. Smith

An Officer of the Order of Canada, Smith’s credits include award-winning TV docudramas such as Dieppe, Prairie Giant: The Tommy Douglas Story, and the Gemini Award-winning The Boys of St. Vincent. He also directed numerous feature films, including Sitting in Limbo, which won Best Canadian feature at TIFF in 1986, Dangerous Minds, A Cool Dry Place, Geraldine’s Fortune and Love & Savagery among others. In 2013, he won the Directors Guild of Canada Lifetime Achievement Award. 

Writers

Sam Grana, John N. Smith, Des Walsh

Cast

Henry Czerny, Johnny Morina, Brian Dooley

Producers

Claudio Luca, Sam Grana

Genre

Drama

Interests

Classics, History, Social Justice & Politics

Original Language

English

Language Version

EN CC

Canadian Distributor

eOne