BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY : AFRO-CANADIAN " CLEMENT VIRGO " IS A CANADIAN FILMMAKER, HIS LATEST FEATURE, THE BOXING DRAMA "POOR BOY'S GAME" ; GOES INTO THE " HALL OF BLACK GENIUS "

                             BLACK              SOCIAL             HISTORY                                                                                                                                                                                                      Clément Virgo (born June 1, 1966 in Montego Bay, Jamaica) is a Canadian filmmaker. His latest feature, the boxing drama Poor Boy's Game, stars Danny Glover and Rossif Sutherland. The film world-premiered at the 2007 Berlin International Film Festival, Panorama Special Section, and was presented as a Special Selection at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival. Poor Boy’s Game also earned Virgo a nomination in 2007 for the DGC Outstanding Achievement Craft Award for direction of a motion picture film. In a review for Variety, critic Leslie Felperin writes “…Poor Boy’s Game may rep [Virgo’s] best work so far, blending seamlessly his preoccupation with race, fluid identities, and complex sexuality.” ^[1]

Virgo’s Lie with Me caused a stir at the 2005 Toronto International Film Festival for its artistically daring portrayal of explicit sexual themes.^[2] Starring Lauren Lee Smith and Eric Balfour, Lie With Me had its European premiere at the 2006 Berlin International Film Festival, Panorama Section. It has been distributed internationally in over 30 territories, and sold to Showtime in the US.^[3]

Born in Jamaica, Virgo immigrated to Canada at the age of 11.^[4] Virgo has also received acclaim for his work in short film and television. He was nominated for a 2006 DGC Outstanding Achievement Craft Award for direction of a television series (ReGenesis). He has directed two episodes of The Wire for HBO, and The L Word and Soul Food for Showtime. His short film, Save My Lost Nigga’ Soul, won Best Film prizes at the Toronto, Fespaco and Chicago Film Festivals.^[5] His other films include Rude, which world premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, The Planet of Junior Brown, which earned Virgo an Emmy nomination, and Love Come Down.

Most recently, he worked as a director and executive producer on the new NBC/CTV television series, The Listener. The series premiered in North America in June 2009.^[6] His production company, Conquering Lion Pictures, is also in development on The Book of Negroes, based on the best-selling novel by Lawrence Hill which won the 2008 Commonwealth Writer’s Prize for Best Book.^[7]

Filmography

Film

• Rude (1995)
• The Planet of Junior Brown (1997)
• Love Come Down (2000)
• Lie with Me (2005)
• Poor Boy's Game (2008)

Television

• Side Effects (1996)
• Soul Food (2000)
• The Wire
  • Episode 1.04 "Old Cases" (2002)
  • Episode 1.12 "Cleaning Up" (2002)
• The L Word (2003)
• Platinum (2004)
• ReGenesis (2005–2006)
• The Listener (2009, 7 episodes)