Conquering Lion Pictures (CLP) is an independent Canadian film production company founded by

Clement Virgo Clement Virgo (born June 1, 1966) 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 adapt ...

and

Damon D'Oliveira 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. Originally from Guyana, D'Oliveira moved to Canada in 1976. He had acting roles in ...

. Virgo and D'Oliveira met in 1991 while studying at the

Canadian Film Centre The Canadian Film Centre (CFC) is a charitable organization founded by filmmaker Norman Jewison in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in 1988. Originally launched as film school, today it provides training, development and advancement opportunities for pr ...

(CFC), and formed CLP while working on ''

Rude Rudeness (also called effrontery) is a display of actual or perceived disrespect by not complying with the social norms or etiquette of a group or culture. These norms have been established as the essential boundaries of normally accepted beha ...

'', their first feature film at the CFC. CLP have produced or co-produced a number of noteworthy films. Their first feature film, ''

'' (1995), was the first feature film produced by an

African-Canadian Black Canadians (also known as Caribbean-Canadians or Afro-Canadians) are people of full or partial sub-Saharan African descent who are citizens or permanent residents of Canada. The majority of Black Canadians are of Caribbean origin, though ...

director, and premiered at

Cannes Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. T ...

to critical acclaim. ''

Poor Boy's Game ''Poor Boy's Game'' is a 2007 Canadian drama film directed by Clement Virgo. Co-written with Nova Scotian writer/director Chaz Thorne (''Just Buried''), it is the story of class struggle, racial tensions, and boxing, set in the Canadian east coas ...

'' (2007), directed by Virgo, premiered at the 2007

Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the fest ...

as a "Panorama Special Selection", and was later presented as a Special Selection at the 2007

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a perman ...

. '' 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, and has since been distributed internationally in over 30 territories and sold to

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

. CLP's latest project is '' The Book of Negroes'', based on the

Lawrence Hill Lawrence Hill (born January 24, 1957) is a Canadian novelist, essayist, and memoirist. He is known for his 2007 novel '' The Book of Negroes,'' inspired by the Black Loyalists given freedom and resettled in Nova Scotia by the British after the ...

novel of the same name. Hill's novel won the 2009 ''

Canada Reads ''Canada Reads'' is an annual "battle of the books" competition organized and broadcast by Canada's public broadcaster, the CBC. The program has aired in two distinct editions, the English-language ''Canada Reads'' on CBC Radio One, and the Frenc ...

'' contest as well as the Commonwealth Writers' Prize in 2008. 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. 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. 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 David Chariandy is a Canadian writer. His parents immigrated to Canada from Trinidad in the 1960s. He was born in Scarborough, Ontario. His father is from South Asian descent, whereas his mother is African. They were both working class immigra ...

Filmography

*''

'' (1995) *''

Love Come Down "Love Come Down" is a song written by American musician Kashif. It was recorded by American singer Evelyn King for her fifth album '' Get Loose'' (1982). "Love Come Down" was released in July 1982 by RCA Records as the lead single from ''Get Lo ...

'' (2000) *'' Lie with Me'' (2005) *''

'' (2007) *'' The Book of Negroes'' (2015)

References

{{reflist

External links

Conquering Lions Pictures homepage
Film production companies of Canada Television production companies of Canada