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]
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The year 1970 in film involved some significant events.
Chilly Beach is a Canadian animated series and sitcom, which aired on CBC from 2003 to 2006. The series is a comedic depiction of life in the fictional Canadian town of Chilly Beach, described by the producers as "a bunch of Canadians doing the stuff that Canadians do, like playing hockey, drinking beer, and being eaten by polar bears." Chilly Beach plays on nearly every conceivable stereotype that people have about Canadians in a satirical manner. 65 episodes were produced.
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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.
Rude is a 1995 Canadian crime film directed by Clement Virgo. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival, before having its Canadian premiere at the 1995 Toronto International Film Festival as the opening film of the Perspectives Canada program.
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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.
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The Book of Negroes is a 2015 television miniseries based on the 2007 novel of the same name by Canadian writer Lawrence Hill. The book was inspired by the British freeing and evacuation of former slaves, known as Black Loyalists, who had left rebel masters during the American Revolutionary War. The British transported some 3,000 Black Loyalists to Nova Scotia for resettlement, documenting their names in what was called the Book of Negroes.
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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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