''The Planet of Junior Brown'', retitled ''Junior's Groove'' in some releases, is a 1997 Canadian drama film. Directed 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 ...

, the film was written by Virgo and

Cameron Bailey Cameron Bailey is a Canadian film critic and festival programmer, who is the CEO of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). Biography Born in London, England to parents from Barbados,Virginia Hamilton Virginia Esther Hamilton (March 12, 1936 – February 19, 2002) was an American children's books author. She wrote 41 books, including '' M. C. Higgins, the Great'' (1974), for which she won the U.S. National Book Award in category Children's Bo ...

's 1971 novel '' The Planet of Junior Brown''. The film stars Martin Villafana as the titular Junior Brown, an overweight and

schizophrenic Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social withdra ...

child prodigy studying piano from music teacher Miss Peebs (

Margot Kidder Margaret Ruth Kidder (October 17, 1948 – May 13, 2018), known professionally as Margot Kidder, was a Canadian-American actress whose career spanned five decades. Her accolades include three Canadian Screen Awards and one Daytime Emmy Awa ...

). The film's cast also includes

Rainbow Sun Francks Rainbow Sun Francks (born 3 December 1979) is a Canadian actor known for his role as Lt. Aiden Ford in the television show ''Stargate Atlantis'', and his recurring roles on ''The Listener'', ''The Umbrella Academy'' and ''High Fidelity''. Ea ...

Clark Johnson Clark Johnson (born September 10, 1954), is an American-Canadian actor and director who has worked in both television and film. He is best known for his roles as David Jefferson in ''Night Heat'' (1985–1988), Clark Roberts in ''E.N.G.'' (1989� ...

Lynn Whitfield Lynn Whitfield (''née'' Smith; born February 15, 1953) is an American actress. She began her acting career in television and theatre before progressing to supporting roles in film. She won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a ...

Sarah Polley Sarah Ellen Polley (born January 8, 1979) is a Canadian actress,Howell, Peter (September 24, 1999)"Nobody's Starlet: Toronto's Sarah Polley is Only 20 but already a veteran actor so secure in her craft she can thumb her nose at Hollywood" ''Tor ...

Richard Chevolleau Richard Chevolleau is a Jamaican–Canadian actor, best known for playing Augur on '' Earth: Final Conflict'' from 1997 to 2002.Chris Krejlgaard, "Black actor hoping to play a superhero". ''Times and Transcript'', May 14, 1999. Early life Chevo ...

, Denis Akiyama and

Dan Lett Daniel Frederick Lett (born April 16, 1959) is a Canadian actor. He has acted in films, theatre and television. His principal roles have been in the series '' F/X'', ''The X-Files'', '' E.N.G.'', '' Street Legal'', ''Wind at My Back'', and '' Mad ...

. The film premiered at the 1997 Toronto International Film Festival on September 6, 1997, but was distributed primarily as a

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French-l ...

film airing in November of that year. The film aired on

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 ...

and

Fox Family Channel The American cable and satellite television network that is now known as Freeform was originally launched as the CBN Satellite Service on April 29, 1977, and has gone through several different owners (and six different name changes) during its h ...

in the United States in 1999, following which Whitfield won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Performance in a Youth/Children's Series or Special in 2000."Lynn Whitfield goes to Washington in 'Head of State'". ''Westside Gazette'', April 2, 2003.

References

External links

* * 1997 films 1997 drama films Canadian drama television films English-language Canadian films CBC Television original films Films directed by Clement Virgo 1990s English-language films 1990s Canadian films {{Canada-tv-film-stub

See also

References

External links