Brother – brilliantly acted Canadian coming-of-age drama

THE GUARDIAN - Mark Kermode's film of the week

A single mother struggles to protect her two very different sons, growing up in Toronto, in Clement Virgo’s deeply moving film

This critically feted and broodingly touching Canadian drama from writer-director Clement Virgo focuses on two siblings, Francis and Michael, brilliantly played by Aaron Pierre and Lamar Johnson. Yet despite the title and the poster that both foreground the two male leads, the film could equally have been called Mother (as opposed to mother!), with Marsha Stephanie Blake dominating the screen as the Jamaican-Canadian matriarch Ruth, struggling to hold and protect her sons. Indeed, all of Brother’s most powerfully affecting moments centre on Ruth’s love and loss, with her children the source of her joy and sadness.

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“Brother” Writer/Director Clement Virgo on Returning to Filmmaking

BY BRYAN ABRAMS

Writer/director Clement Virgo followed his instincts when he returned to feature filmmaking. Since his last feature, Poor Boy’s Game (2007), Virgo has been directing TV, working more or less nonstop. He’s directed episodes of Empire, Netflix’s Dahmer- Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, and OWN’s megachurch drama Greenleaf. He was thinking about getting back into features when a friend handed him a copy of David Chariandy’s novel “Brother,” about two Trinidadian immigrants in the Toronto suburb of Scarborough during a smotheringly hot summer in 1991.

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‘The Porter,’ ‘Sort Of’ and Clement Virgo’s ‘Brother’ Lead 2023 Canadian Screen Awards

By Amber Dowling

The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television has named its batch of 2023 film and TV winners ahead of Sunday night’s broadcast of the Canadian Screen Awards on CBC and CBC Gem. During the weeklong celebration, which was broken up over four days, “The Porter” and “Brother” emerged with the most victories in their respective TV and film categories.

“Brother” had 13 nominations heading into Thursday night’s film celebrations and triumphed in 12 categories — including best motion picture. Clement Virgo also picked up wins for directing and adapted screenplay, while Lamar Johnson won for performance in a leading role and Aaron Pierre won for performance in a supporting role.

The film is based on David Chariandy’s prize-winning novel of the same name and made its world debut this past September at the Toronto International Film Festival. “Brother” revolves around the sons of Caribbean immigrants as they come of age during Toronto’s 1990s hip-hop scene.

Director Clement Virgo on How 'Brother' Was Shaped by 90s Canadian Hip-Hop

BY LOUIS PAVLAKOS FOR COMPLEX CANADA

'Brother' director Clement Virgo talks about perceptions of life, his understanding of masculinity, and how 90s Canadian hip-hop laid the groundwork.

When Clement Virgo signed on to direct the film adaptation of David Chariandy’s award-winning novel Brother, he immediately saw a piece of himself in Michael, the younger of the two brothers in the film. 

As a self-described introvert, Virgo always silently observed his surroundings, taking in the world that his parents and his siblings helped shape around him. In that reflection came a deeper understanding of the bond that Michael and his brother Francis develop over the course of the film.

Michael and Francis have a relationship that’s tender but also fractured from the lack of resources—both material and familial—that can help shape them as young men. Abandoned by their father at a young age, their mother Ruth struggled with a low-paying, highly demanding job, often leaving her kids to their own devices. Without any guidance on how to be a man in an ever-changing world, Michael looks to Francis to provide guidance on how to piece together his own masculinity.

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Clement Virgo and Bilal Baig on being among leading Canadian Screen Awards nominees

EDUARDO LIMA/THE GLOBE AND MAIL

Toronto filmmaker Clement Virgo has worked in the industry for over two decades, yet he says he was surprised to find out that his coming-of-age film set in Scarborough is this year’s leading film nominee heading into the Canadian Screen Awards.

Virgo’s feature Brother, which is based on the novel by David Chariandy, received 14 nods from the Canadian Academy of Cinema and Television on Wednesday, including best motion picture and achievement in direction.

The adaptation, which dives into societal challenges facing two Jamaican Canadian brothers in the 1990s, debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival and made TIFF’s Top Ten list for 2022.

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‘Brother,’ ‘Black Ice’ Producers to Fasttrack Basketball-Themed Crime Drama Series ‘The Count’ This Fall

By Jennie Punter

Stoked by raves and strong receptions to their world-premiering Toronto festival films, “Brother” producers Damon D’Oliveira and Clement Virgo, “Black Ice” producer Vinay Virmani, and “Alice, Darling” producer Noah Segal are warming up a new basketball-themed crime series, “The Count,” for this fall’s marketplace, Variety has learned.

A modern spin on French author Alexandre Dumas’ classic 19th-century novel of wrongful imprisonment “The Count of Monte Cristo,” the TV drama will bounce between Toronto’s basketball milieu and Haiti’s cultural mélange as it follows the transformation of a Haitian basketball player facing a life sentence for murder into to justice-seeking saboteur.

D’Oliveira and Virgo under their Conquering Lion Pictures company, The Good Karma Company’s chief content officer Virmani, and Elevation Pictures co-president Segal have signed on as executive producers on the series.

Virgo, who wrote and directed the Lamar Johnson-starring “Brother,” and Hubert Davis, director of the revelatory hockey documentary “Black Ice,” are set to direct “The Count, which starts pre-production in 2023.

Virgo’s “Brother” is his adaptation of David Chariandy’s award-winning novel, which explores manhood, ambition, family love and loss in a Scarborough housing complex. Virgo’s extensive TV credits include the series adaptation of Lawrence Hill’s novel “The Book of Negroes” (CBC, BET) and episodes of “Billions” and “Empire.” He and D’Oliveira are developing an adaptation of Esi Edugyan’s jazz-themed novel “Half-Blood Blues” with CBC through their company.

“I’m thrilled to be working on the adaptation of this literary masterpiece,” said Virgo, who signed with WME earlier this month. “Adapting ‘The Count’ to a contemporary setting opens up the classic story for a whole new generation.”

“Crime thrillers, like basketball, are popular around the world,” commented executive producers D’Oliveira, Segal and Virmani. “This combustive combo will play well for audiences, both young and old.”

Elevation’s Segal added that he and his fellow exec producers firmed up their commitment to “The Count” this week, and that their recent successes in Toronto convinced them to fast track it: “We are looking forward to bringing this series to buyers this fall.”

Elevation Pictures is a leading Canadian distributor and production company. Recent projects include Anna Kendrick-starring “Alice, Darling,” which was shot in Ontario, and Brandon Cronenberg’s “Infinity Pool.”

‘Brother’ Director Clement Virgo Signs With WME

By Justin Kroll

EXCLUSIVE: In a competitive situation, Clement Virgo has signed with WME in advance of the TIFF world premiere of Brother, starring Lamar Johnson, Aaron Pierre and Marsha Stephanie Black. His debut feature, Rude, premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in Un Certain Regard and opened the Perspectives Canada program at TIFF.  His credits includes the boxing drama Poor Boy’s Game, Lie With Me and Love Come Down.

On the TV side, he directed and co-wrote the six part miniseries adaptation of Lawrence Hill’s novel The Book of Negroes. The series debuted to record-breaking numbers on the CBC in Canada and on BET in the U.S. and went on to win twelve Canadian Screen Awards and earned two U.S. Critics Choice TV Awards nominations for Best Limited Series and Best Actress in a Limited Series (Aunjanue Ellis). He also directed the pilot of the drama series Greenleaf, and serves as an executive producer for the series alongside Oprah Winfrey.

His upcoming TV work includes directing two episodes of the Ryan Murphy series Monster and Jason Katmis’ Dear Edward for Apple TV+. He has directed episodes of critically acclaimed TV series such as HBO’s The Wire, Showtime’s Billions and Fox’s Empire.

His production company, Conquering Lion Pictures, is co-run by his producing partner Damon D’Oliveira. Clément is managed by Jon Huddle at Fourth Wall Management, his attorney is Craig Emanuel at Paul Hastings, and his Canadian agent is Ralph Zimmerman at Great North Artists Management.

Ten buzzy films at the Toronto International Film Festival this year

By Nicole Thompson, The Canadian Press

TORONTO — The stars are once again migrating north for the Toronto International Film Festival, which organizers say is set to return to its pre-pandemic glory days when it begins next week.

With a slate of roughly 200 features, the options range from the indie arthouse to Oscar bait to big-budget crowd pleasers.

Brother

Clement Virgo’s adaptation of David Chariandy’s award-winning novel about two Trinidadian-Canadian brothers growing up in Scarborough, Ont., is one of the buzziest Canadian titles at the festival this year. Set in the 1990s hip hop scene, the film is a stunning portrait of Toronto’s eastern borough, says TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey.

Toronto Film Festival to World Premiere Clement Virgo’s ‘Brother’

BY ETAN VLESSING

The mystery drama stars Lamar Johnson and Aaron Pierre and will bow at TIFF's 47th edition.

Clement Virgo’s Brother is set to have its world premiere at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival, organizers said on Wednesday.

Adapted for the screen by Virgo from David Chariandy’s novel of the same name, Brother is the story of Francis and Michael, sons of Caribbean immigrants maturing into young men amid Toronto’s 1990s hip-hop scene. A mystery unfolds when escalating tensions set off a series of events that changes the course of the brothers’ lives forever.

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Bell Media announces development project with all-Black executive production team

by Victoria Ahearn

The planned bilingual anthology series Festivale, by and about Black Canadians, will also serve as an incubator supported by the Black Screen Office.

Bell Media has teamed up with an all-Black executive production team to develop what’s billed as Canada’s first bilingual anthology series, by and about Black Canadians.

The six-part Festivale is in pre-development for Crave and will also serve as a pre-development incubator administered by the Black Screen Office for creative teams who have not had the opportunity to produce content for a large network.

The series is a collaboration between Crave’s French and English development teams as well as francophone executive producers Marie Ka and Richard Jean-Baptiste, and anglophone executive producers Damon D’Oliveira and Clement Virgo.

The 6ix is calling: a conversation with Clement Virgo and Thyrone Tommy

In this episode, host Marriska Fernandes sits down with two Toronto-made filmmakers, Clement Virgo and Thyrone Tommy. Clement moved to Toronto from Jamaica as a young man and in 2015, he directed and co-wrote a six-part miniseries adaptation of The Book of Negroes, which captivated audiences across Canada and the US, winning a grand total of 12 Canadian Screen Awards. Clement is also behind the foundation of the Black Screen Office, created to expand the reach of stories and works by Black filmmakers in Canada. Thyrone Tommy has seen his films celebrated internationally at over 30 festivals. His 2016 short film Mariner was named one of the TIFF Canada’s Top Ten shorts of the year and saw him awarded the Lindalee Tracey Award at Hot Docs the same year, In 2017, Mariner won him the Audience Award at the Scenic City Film Festival. Tune in to this episode to hear the duo discuss what drives them to make movies, the importance of Black representation in the film industry -- both in front and behind the camera -- and how they view the future of Canadian cinema.

A podcast hosted by Marriska Fernandes, produced by The Brand is Female and powered by Telefilm Canada.

CV Developing Series with Barack & Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground

Courtesy of Deadline Hollywood and Mike Fleming Jr.

Priya Swaminathan and Tonia Davis, co-heads of Higher Ground Productions, President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama’s production company in partnership with Netflix, have set the company’s initial slate of upcoming projects. The content encompasses a wide range of fiction and nonfiction signature productions for all audiences including scripted, unscripted and documentary series, as well as full-length features and documentaries.

The Obamas launched Higher Ground last spring to create content that embodies the core values of celebrating the human spirit through struggles and triumph; facing adversity through resilience, determination, and hope; lifting up new voices and stories to bring about change; and transcending divides to bring us together. The projects selected are a reflection of these values and a commitment to quality storytelling. Higher Ground expects to make additional project announcements in the coming months…

Bloom is an upstairs/downstairs drama series set in the world of fashion in post-WWII New York City that depicts barriers faced by women and by people of color in an era marked by hurdles but also tremendous progress. Series is written and executive produced by Oscar winner Callie Khouri from an idea developed by Khouri, writer-director Clement Virgo (The Book of Negroes, The Wire, Empire) and novelist and producer Juliana Maio (City of the Sun). Higher Ground Productions, Khouri, Virgo and Maio will executive produce the series.

‘Greenleaf’ Renewed for Season 4 at OWN

Courtesy Variety and Joe Otterson

“Greenleaf” has been renewed for a fourth season at OWN, the network announced Wednesday.

The announcement comes as the drama series has aired just four episodes of its third season, with the fifth episode set to air tonight.

“‘Greenleaf’ is a cornerstone of our scripted programming slate and pulls in millions of viewers each week with its unique storylines and powerful characters,” said Erik Logan, president of OWN. “We are very proud of this show, the incredible cast, producers and crew, and can’t wait for more twists and turns from the Greenleaf family in season four.”

In Season 3, all the turbulent forces that Grace’s (Merle Dandridge) return to Memphis unleashed threaten to destroy not just the church her family built, but the family itself. Fallout from last season’s shocking revelation of Bishop’s (Keith David) infidelities with Lady Mae’s (Lynn Whitfield) sister, as well as reverberations from his current dalliance with that insidious Jezebel, Rochelle Cross (LeToya Luckett) lead to all-out war in the Greenleaf home, setting the Bishop and Lady Mae on a collision course that, unless God or Grace intervenes, can only end one way: divorce.

The series also stars Patti LaBelle, Lamman Rucker, Kim Hawthorne, Deborah Joy Winans, Desiree Ross, Lovie Simone, Tye White, and Rick Fox.

“Greenleaf” is produced for OWN by Lionsgate in association with Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Films and Pine City. Executive producers are Winfrey, Craig Wright, Clement Virgo, and Kriss Turner Towner. Viewers can catch up on the show’s complete first and second seasons on Netflix.

CV Developing Feature Based on Family Drama ‘Brother’

Courtesy Variety and Dave McNary

Toronto-based production companies Conquering Lion and Hawkeye Pictures have acquired the film and television rights to David Chariandy’s family drama “Brother,” Variety has learned exclusively.

Clement Virgo (“The Book of Negroes”) is attached to adapt the screenplay and direct the film. The novel tells the story of two brothers facing questions of masculinity, family, race and identity in a housing complex during the sweltering heat and simmering violence of the summer of 1991.

The deal was announced Thursday on the opening day of the Toronto Film Festival. “Brother” is the winner of the 2017 Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize, was shortlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize, won the 2018 Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize, and is a current finalist for the Toronto Book Award.

Virgo’s TV directing credits include “Empire,” “American Crime” and “The Wire.”  He is the supervising director and executive producer with Oprah Winfrey on OWN network drama series “Greenleaf.”

“Growing up poor in Toronto’s Regent Park in the 1980s to Jamaican immigrant parents, I relate on a personal level to the characters and how the world sees you as a young black man,” said Virgo. “I’m excited to dive into adapting and directing such a personal story.”

“‘Brother’ is an exquisite novel and Clement a visionary filmmaker,” said producer Aeschylus Poulos. “There is no one better to adapt and direct this story.”

Rights were sold by Michael Levine at Westwood Creative Artists, on behalf of Jackie Kaiser. Damon D’Oliveira negotiated the deal on behalf of Conquering Lion and Hawkeye Pictures.

CV Developing "Cuban Five" Spy Drama

Courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter and Etan Vlessing

The indie feature about Cuban agents sent to south Florida by the Castro government to spy on exile groups will be directed by Clement Virgo.

An indie thriller about The Cuban Five, a group of Cuban agents sent to south Florida by the Castro government to spy on exile groups in the 1990s, is in the works.

The film, The Cuban Five, will be directed by Clement Virgo, who earlier adapted the Lawrence Hill novel The Book of Negroes into a miniseries for BET in the U.S.

Canadian indie producers Pictou Twist Pictures, Picture Plant and Conquering Lions Production have partnered with the ICAIC, Cuba's film institute, to co-produce a film about the Cuban agents arrested by U.S. authorities in 1998.

They were convicted and jailed, only to be released in 2014 as part of a spy exchange negotiated by then president Barack Obama and Cuban president Raul Castro to improve relations between the two countries. 

Barrie Dunn wrote the screenplay, which is based on Stephen Kimber’s book What Lies Across the Water: The Real Story of The Cuban Five. In March 2015, Dunn and Kimber met in Havana with the five Cuban agents, who agreed to work with the Canadian film producers to make the film about their story.