Christopher Mark Bessette was born in Welland, Ontario, Canada, to Ralph Bessette, a steel worker, and Eva Crysler, a seamstress, who were both married previously, making him the only child of their second marriage. He had five older half-siblings from his parents' previous relationships. Growing up on an acreage deeded to his family by the Crown of England over 200 years ago, he felt like an only child.
After graduating from Niagara College with a diploma in Broadcasting, majoring in Film, and being on the Dean's Honor Roll, Bessette's career journey took a unique route. Instead of pursuing a career in Toronto immediately, he chose to postpone his career and stay close to home to care for a family member. This experience would later influence the themes and stories he would tell in his films.
Early in his career, Bessette worked for a Canadian broadcast company, which led to him becoming a producer on a program for Family Channel, overseeing producers from 13 nations. His film work took him to the Amazon jungle, Central America, Russia, and Southeast Asia, allowing him to develop sensitivity and experience with various cultures. He also expanded his work to include theatre, directing four 100-person musicals.
In 2008, Bessette received the ARPA Film Festival Award for Best Director for his feature film "Yai Wanonabalewä: The Enemy God", which spans 50 years of an Amazonian witch-doctor's life. The film features 300 tribal people with 86 speaking roles. Dr. Zaven Khatchturian, Film Curator of the 11th ARPA International Film Festival 2008, praised the film, saying it was "cinematic invention indeed" and "one of the most amazing films I have ever experienced".
Bessette's sophomore feature film, "Trade of Innocents", starring Dermot Mulroney and Mira Sorvino, earned him his second Best Director Award at the 32nd Annual Festival of Film Breckenridge. The film was screened at a unique historic event for film, becoming the centerpiece for a symposium on Human Trafficking at Yale University. The event was presented in conjunction with Yale Law School, the U.S. Attorney's Office District of Connecticut, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Dermot Mulroney praised "Trade of Innocents" as one of the top 10 significant movies of his career, and in Australia, it sold out 21 of 42 screenings. At its biggest public screening in Canada, the film raised 43 thousand dollars to aid in the rescue and rehabilitation of human trafficked women and children, exceeding its original goal of 12 thousand dollars.
Bessette's motivation for telling stories is to capture the rhythm of each story, which he believes resonates as truth with the audience and moves them. He aims to nudge people to receptive insight, encouraging them to see things in a new light.
In 2012, Bessette was nominated by his Alma mater for the prestigious Premier's Award for outstanding career achievements, a distinguished award granted by the Premier of the Province of Ontario, Canada.
