Conquering Lion Pictures

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Conquering Lion Pictures (CLP) is an independent Canadian film production company founded by Clement Virgo and Damon D'Oliveira. [1] Virgo and D'Oliveira met in 1991 while studying at the Canadian Film Centre (CFC), and formed CLP while working on Rude , their first feature film at the CFC. [1]

Contents

CLP have produced or co-produced a number of noteworthy films. Their first feature film, Rude (1995), was the first feature film produced by an African-Canadian director, [2] [3] and premiered at Cannes to critical acclaim. [1] Poor Boy's Game (2007), directed by Virgo, premiered at the 2007 Berlin International Film Festival as a "Panorama Special Selection", and was later presented as a Special Selection at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival. [4] Lie with Me (2005) premiered at the 2006 Berlin International Film Festival as a "Panorama Selection". It caused a stir at the 2005 Toronto International Film Festival for its portrayal of explicit sexual themes, [5] and has since been distributed internationally in over 30 territories and sold to Showtime. [6]

CLP's latest project is The Book of Negroes , based on the Lawrence Hill novel of the same name. [7] Hill's novel won the 2009 Canada Reads contest as well as the Commonwealth Writers' Prize in 2008. [8] CLP's six-part miniseries adaptation premiered on BET in February 2015 and won nine Canadian Screen Awards in 2016, as well as an award for best miniseries by the NAACP. [9] [10] [11] [12] [13]

Other upcoming feature projects include the lesbian western I Shot the Sheriff, and an urban music drama, Enter the Cipher, which was selected for the 2010 Tribeca All Access program. [14]

In 2017, Clement Virgo and Damon D'Oliveira were award the Canadian Film Centre's Award for Creative Excellence, for their filmography created at Conquering Lion Pictures. [15]

In September 2018, it was announced that CLP, along with fellow Canadian film company Hawkeye Pictures, had acquired the rights to Brother, an award-winning novel by David Chariandy. [16]

Filmography

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "Honouring Damon D'Oliveira and Clement Virgo of Conquering Lion Pictures". cfccreates.com. Retrieved 2018-10-15.
  2. ↑ "OMDC SUCCESS STORY: Conquering Lion Pictures". www.ontariocreates.ca. Retrieved 2018-10-15.
  3. ↑ "Why the film pioneers behind Book of Negroes have always struggled with feeling 'Canadian' | CBC Arts". CBC. Retrieved 2018-10-15.
  4. ↑ Robinson, Marcus. "Virgo thinks globally with Poor Boy's Game" . Retrieved 2015-11-04.
  5. ↑ Walker, Susan (25 September 2005). "Lie with Me". Toronto Star.
  6. ↑ Lie with Me at IMDb   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
  7. ↑ Punter, Jennie (19 August 2009). "Lion nabs 'Name' film rights". Variety.
  8. ↑ Barber, John (19 August 2009). "Lawrence Hill's Book of Negroes set for film". The Globe and Mail .
  9. ↑ "ABOUT". Conquering Lion Pictures. Retrieved 2018-10-15.
  10. ↑ "Book of Negroes big winner at Canadian Screen Awards" . Retrieved 2018-10-15.
  11. ↑ International, Radio Canada (2016-03-10). "'The Book of Negroes' wins at the Canadian Screen Awards". RCI | English. Retrieved 2018-10-15.
  12. ↑ Lowry, Brian (2015-02-12). "TV Review: BET's 'The Book of Negroes'". Variety. Retrieved 2018-10-15.
  13. ↑ Report, Electronic Urban (2016-04-12). "'The Book of Negroes' Licensed by eOne to Hulu". EURweb. Retrieved 2018-10-15.
  14. ↑ "Tribeca All Access Sets 24 Projects for Seventh Edition". 22 March 2010.
  15. ↑ Evans, Ferrin; Walker, Heather (February 2021). "Conquering Lion Pictures Fonds". University of Toronto Exhibits. Retrieved 2023-06-29.
  16. ↑ McNary, Dave (2018-09-06). "Toronto-Based Family Drama 'Brother' to Be Developed as Film". Variety. Retrieved 2018-10-15.
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