Damon D'Oliveira | |
|---|---|
 Damon D'Oliveira, March 2017 | |
| Born | |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, film producer |
| Years active | 1980s–present |
| Known for | Rude , Love Come Down , The Book of Negroes |
| Spouse | Maxime Desmons |
Damon D'Oliveira is a Canadian actor and film and television producer, best known as a partner with Clement Virgo in the production firm Conquering Lion Pictures. [1]
In September 2023, he was named chair of the Canadian Media Producers Association. [2]
Originally from Guyana, D'Oliveira moved to Canada in 1976. He had acting roles in stage, film and television in the 1980s, and was credited as an associate producer on Darrell Wasyk's 1990 film H , before being admitted into the Canadian Film Centre's program for filmmakers of colour in 1991 alongside classmates including Virgo, Robert Adetuyi, Mina Shum and Stephen Williams. [3]
His first film production credit was on Virgo's 1993 short film Save My Lost Nigga Soul . He has since been a producer of Virgo's films Rude , Love Come Down , Lie with Me , Poor Boy's Game and The Book of Negroes , as well as John Greyson's films The Law of Enclosures [4] and Proteus . Rude and Love Come Down were both Genie Award nominees for Best Picture.
As an actor, D'Oliveira's roles have included voice roles in Rupert , Chilly Beach , Monster Force , Tales from the Cryptkeeper and Donkey Kong Country , guest roles in Adderly , Neon Rider , Night Heat , War of the Worlds , Street Legal , Side Effects , Due South , TekWar , Forever Knight , Traders , The City , Queer as Folk , Show Me Yours , ZOS: Zone of Separation and The Border , and the films Uncut , Getting Away with Murder and Bollywood/Hollywood .
In 2023, he was awarded the inaugural Trailblazer Award, in honour of his work as a pioneering BIPOC filmmaker, as part of the Toronto International Film Festival Amplify Voices Award slate. [5]
Openly gay, he is married to film director and screenwriter Maxime Desmons. [6]
Martin Hayter Short is a Canadian-American comedian, actor, and writer. Short is known as an energetic comedian who gained prominence for his roles in sketch comedy. He has also acted in numerous films and television shows. He has received various awards including two Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Tony Award. Short was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2019.
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Clement Virgo is a Canadian film and television writer, producer and director who runs the production company, Conquering Lion Pictures, with producer Damon D'Oliveira. Virgo is best known for co-writing and directing an adaptation of the novel by Canadian writer Lawrence Hill, The Book of Negroes (2015), a six-part miniseries that aired on CBC Television in Canada and BET in the United States.
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Conquering Lion Pictures (CLP) is an independent Canadian film production company founded by Clement Virgo and Damon D'Oliveira. 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.
Love Come Down is a 2000 Canadian drama film. Written and directed by Clement Virgo, the film stars Larenz Tate as Neville Carter, an aspiring comedian trying to rebuild his life after a stint in a drug rehabilitation centre.
Donkey Kong Country is an animated musical television series based on the video game Donkey Kong Country from Nintendo and Rare. Co-produced by Nelvana, Medialab Studio L.A. and Hong Guang Animation, in association with WIC Entertainment, with the participation of Teletoon—for Season 1, it was produced in co-production with France 2, Canal+, in association with Valar 4.
The Book of Negroes is a 2015 Canadian historical drama television miniseries directed by Clement Virgo, adapted by Virgo and Lawrence Hill from the latter’s 2007 novel of the same name. It stars Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Lyriq Bent, Cuba Gooding Jr., Louis Gossett Jr., Ben Chaplin, Allan Hawco, Greg Bryk, and Jane Alexander. It originally aired in six installments on CBC in Canada on January 7, 2015, and on BET in the United States on February 16.
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Save My Lost Nigga Soul is a 1993 Canadian short film, directed by Clement Virgo. An adaptation of the story of Cain and Abel, it was made while Virgo was a student at the Canadian Film Centre.
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