Damon D'Oliveira

Originally from Guyana, D'Oliveira moved to Canada in 1976. He had acting roles in stage, film and television in the 1980s, and was credited as an associate producer on Darrell Wasyk's 1990 film H, before being admitted into the Canadian Film Centre's program for filmmakers of colour in 1991 alongside classmates including Virgo, Robert Adetuyi, Mina Shum and Stephen Williams.^[3]

His first film production credit was on Virgo's 1993 short film Save My Lost Nigga Soul. He has since been a producer of Virgo's films Rude, Love Come Down, Lie with Me, Poor Boy's Game and The Book of Negroes, as well as John Greyson's films The Law of Enclosures^[4] and Proteus. Rude and Love Come Down were both Genie Award nominees for Best Picture.

As an actor, D'Oliveira's roles have included voice roles in Rupert, Chilly Beach, Monster Force, Tales from the Cryptkeeper and Donkey Kong Country, guest roles in Adderly, Neon Rider, Night Heat, War of the Worlds, Street Legal, Side Effects, Due South, TekWar, Forever Knight, Traders, The City, Queer as Folk, Show Me Yours, ZOS: Zone of Separation and The Border, and the films Uncut, Getting Away with Murder and Bollywood/Hollywood.

In 2023, he was awarded the inaugural Trailblazer Award, in honour of his work as a pioneering BIPOC filmmaker, as part of the Toronto International Film Festival Amplify Voices Award slate.^[5]

Openly gay, he is married to film director and screenwriter Maxime Desmons.^[6]