Clement Virgo

Birthday: 1 June 1966, Montego Bay, Jamaica

Clement Virgo is one of Canada's foremost feature film directors. Born in Jamaica, Virgo immigrated to Canada at the age of 11. He was a resident in the inaugural 1991 Summer Lab at the Canadian Film Centre (CFC) and returned there in 1992 for a further nine-month residency. Virgo has also received acclaim for his work in short film and television. He received a 2011 Gemini Award nomination for Best Direction in a Dramatic Series for The Listener, and a 2006 DGC Outstanding Achievement Craft Award for direction on the TV series, ReGenesis. He has directed multiple episodes of The Wire for HBO, The L Word and Soul Food for Showtime, and his short film, Save My Lost Nigga' Soul (1993), won Best Film prizes at the Toronto, Fespaco and Chicago Film Festivals. He has also presented a series of intimate talks to celebrate Black History Month in Toronto since 2010, with such notable guests as Lee Daniels, Norman Jewison, Spike Lee, Pam Grier, and John Singleton.Virgo's Lie With Me caused a stir at the 2005 Toronto International Film Festival for its artistically daring portrayal of explicit sexual themes. Starring Lauren Lee Smith (The L Word) and Eric Balfour (Six Feet Under), Lie With Me had its European premiere at the 2006 Berlin Film Festival, Panorama Section. It has been distributed internationally in over 30 territories, and sold to Showtime in the US.His latest feature, the boxing drama Poor Boy's Game (starring Danny Glover and Rossif Sutherland), world-premiered at the 2007 Berlin Film Festival, Panorama Special Section, and was presented as a Special Selection at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival, selling in over 40 countries. It won best film and audience choice awards at the Atlantic Film Festival and Calgary International Film Festival, 2007. 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. Hide

I don't think you can survive as a filmmaker nowadays without having some kind of entrepreneurial sp Show more I don't think you can survive as a filmmaker nowadays without having some kind of entrepreneurial spirit. It just won't work. Hide

For a long time, I didn't really think I could be a filmmaker. It was always more of a hobby than an Show more For a long time, I didn't really think I could be a filmmaker. It was always more of a hobby than an actual career that I thought I could do. Hide

I don't ever want to lecture or preach. I want the audience to have real emotions, not false or forc Show more I don't ever want to lecture or preach. I want the audience to have real emotions, not false or forced emotions. Hide

[1995] I'd like to do a boxing movie with Brad Pitt and make some money. [1995] I'd like to do a boxing movie with Brad Pitt and make some money.

[in 1995, about the commercial fate of serious films with nonwhite protagonists] People don't want t Show more [in 1995, about the commercial fate of serious films with nonwhite protagonists] People don't want to hear about race or sexism, they want to see Dumb & Dumber (1994). Hide

[on Lie with Me (2005) on filming the sex scenes] The actors trusted me implicitly. We never had the Show more [on Lie with Me (2005) on filming the sex scenes] The actors trusted me implicitly. We never had the conversation, 'You're going to have sex.' But it couldn't be fake touching. It had to be truthful. If I believed what they were doing, I'd keep shooting. If I didn't, I'd stop shooting. Hide

I know when I'm watching a movie and a Black person comes on the screen, my attention really pops up Show more I know when I'm watching a movie and a Black person comes on the screen, my attention really pops up. So, for instance, when Sam shows up in Casablanca (1942), I want him to be part of the whole thing. But it breaks my heart when I see him carrying Humphrey Bogart's bags and calling him "Boss". It breaks my heart. Hide

I don't think that I chose to become a filmmaker. I think that it kinda chose me. I don't think that I chose to become a filmmaker. I think that it kinda chose me.

[1995] I think White people will see a film (about non-Whites) if it's filtered through a "White eye Show more [1995] I think White people will see a film (about non-Whites) if it's filtered through a "White eye". Like Brad Pitt taking them through Tibet. Hide

Clement Virgo's FILMOGRAPHY

as Director (1) as Creator (1)

[18+] Lie with Me