BROTHER Q&A with Lamar Johnson, Aaron Pierre, Clement Virgo | TIFF 2022

The team behind BROTHER in conversation with TIFF in advance of its premiere at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival. Clement Virgo’s staggering adaptation of David Chariandy’s novel, the story of two Jamaican Canadian brothers whose dreams are dashed by violent reality in 1990s Scarborough, is sure to be received as one of the most powerful films of the year.
The 47th Toronto International Film Festival runs September 8 to 18, 2022. For more, visit tiff.net.
Clement Virgo returns to the big screen with a staggering adaptation of David Chariandy’s award-winning 2017 novel about two Trinidadian-Canadian brothers coming of age in 1990s Scarborough, where they reconcile their dreams and expectations with the violence that confronts them around every corner. Lamar Johnson (TIFF ’18 Gala premiere The Hate U Give; TIFF ’18 Rising Star) and Aaron Pierre (The Underground Railroad) play the inseparable Jamaican-Canadian brothers Michael and Francis. Every night, before leaving for work, their mother (Marsha Stephanie Blake) gives them strict instructions to stay indoors and keep the TV off, but the two inevitably become entangled in what’s going on outside, both in person and through nightly news reports. Michael, a timid teenager, is always protected by the slightly older Francis, who, in their father’s absence, steps up to be his mentor. Ten years later, Francis is gone and Michael, unmoored, struggles to take care of his mother, who is now incapacitated by grief. The film slowly pieces together their tragedy, jumping back and forth through time to capture its weight, and to track how a mother’s painstaking efforts to protect her children can only extend so far. Realized through Virgo’s thoughtful direction, bolstered by exceptional performances, cinematography, and production design, Brother is a sorrowful but ultimately healing work that pays close attention to the need for kinship and community. Michael and Francis’s stories constitute a familiar reality for many young Black men, but are refracted through a unique structure that recognizes that memories can be both a burden and a blessing.
Director Clement Virgo was born in Jamaica and grew up in Toronto. He studied screenwriting at the Canadian Film Centre, and while there wrote and directed his short film Save My Lost N***a Soul (93), which went on to win Best Short Film at the Festival. His debut feature, Rude (95), premiered in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard section and opened the Perspectives Canada programme at TIFF. His other features include the TIFF selections The Planet of Junior Brown (97) and Lie with Me (05), the Genie Award-winning Love Come Down (00), and Poor Boy’s Game (08). His television work includes episodes of The Wire (02-08) and the miniseries The Book of Negroes (15), which he co-created with longtime collaborator and producer Damon D’Oliveira and co-wrote with author Lawrence Hill. Brother (22) is his latest feature.

[@richardgoodjoin3250]

I loved this film. I happened to find it on NETFLIX and was blown away.

[@galaxylucia1898]

The cast is so wonderful to each other. Good movie and great book

[@pearlonnaj]

This was a great film ❤

[@TIFF]

❤️

[@MrMitchell12996]

12:28 Lovell was like, “What’s going on over there? “ 😂❤️

[@monicadelk8098]

❤️❤️