''Rude'' is a 1995 Canadian

crime film Crime film is a film belonging to the crime fiction genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and fiction. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine with many other genres, such as Drama (film and television), dr ...

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 adap ...

in his feature-length directorial debut. It was screened in the

Un Certain Regard (; 'A Certain Glance') is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's official selection. It is run at the Debussy, parallel to the competition for the . This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob. The section presents 20 films with unusua ...

section at the

1995 Cannes Film Festival The 48th Cannes Film Festival took place from 17 to 28 May 1995. French actress Jeanne Moreau served as jury president for the main competition. French actress Carole Bouquet hosted the opening and closing ceremonies. Serbian filmmaker Emir Kust ...

, before having its Canadian premiere at the

1995 Toronto International Film Festival The 20th Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) took place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada between September 7 and September 16, 1995. '' The Confessional'' by Robert Lepage was selected as the opening film and '' Devil in a Blue Dress'' by Carl F ...

as the opening film of the Perspectives Canada program.

Plot

Set in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, the film tells three distinct but interrelated stories about

Black Canadian Black Canadians () are Canadians of full or partial Afro-Caribbean or sub-Saharan African descent. Black Canadian settlement and immigration patterns can be categorized into two distinct groups. The majority of Black Canadians are descendants ...

life in the impoverished

Regent Park Regent Park is a neighbourhood located in downtown Toronto, Ontario built in the late 1940s as a public housing project managed by Toronto Community Housing. It sits on what used to be a significant part of the Cabbagetown neighbourhood and ...

neighbourhood of the city. One focuses on "The General" ( Maurice Dean Wint), a drug dealer trying to rebuild his life with the help of his brother Reece (

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� ...

) after being released from prison; one centres on Jordan (

Richard Chevolleau Richard Chevolleau is a Jamaican Canadians, 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. ...

), an amateur boxer who is convinced to take part in a

gay-bashing Gay bashing is an attack, abuse, or assault committed against a person who is perceived by the aggressor to be gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or queer (LGBTQ+). It includes both violence against LGBTQ people and LGBTQ bullying. The term ...

which forces him to finally confront his own repressed homosexuality; the third centres on Maxine ( Rachael Crawford), a woman who has recently been dumped by her longtime boyfriend after having an

abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...

. All three stories are tied together by the voice of Rude (

Sharon Lewis Sharon M. Lewis is a Canadian television personality and film director from Toronto, Ontario. She studied political science at the University of Toronto.John McKay, "Sharon Lewis finds activism experience a plus for new role as CounterSpin host, ...

), a disc jockey for a

pirate radio Pirate radio is a radio station that broadcasts without a valid license, whether an invalid license or no license at all. In some cases, radio stations are considered legal where the signal is transmitted, but illegal where the signals are rec ...

station in the neighbourhood.

Cast

* Maurice Dean Wint - General * Rachael Crawford - Maxine *

- Reece *

- Jordan *

- Rude (as Sharon M. Lewis) *

Melanie Nicholls-King Melanie Nicholls-King is a Canadian actress, perhaps best known for playing Cheryl in the drama series ''The Wire'', and for her portrayal of Officer Noelle Williams in the drama series ''Rookie Blue''. Personal life Nicholls-King is from Toron ...

- Jessica *

Stephen Shellen Stephen Shellen, also known as Stephen Shellenberger (born June 17, 1957), is a Canadian actor. He is probably best known for his role as Luke Brenner on the TV series '' Counterstrike'', for his role as Neal in Robert Redford's '' A River Runs T ...

- Yankee *

Gordon Michael Woolvett Gordon Michael Woolvett (born 1970) is a Canadian actor from Hamilton, Ontario. Career Woolvett's most enduring role was as Seamus Zelazny Harper on the television series '' Andromeda'' (2000–2005). Prior to ''Andromeda'' he starred in anoth ...

- Ricky *

Dayo Ade Dayo Ade (born 1972) is a Canadian actor who is best known for his role as Bryant Lester Thomas "BLT" in the ''Degrassi'' television franchise, appearing in ''Degrassi Junior High'' (1987–89) and '' Degrassi High'' (1989–91). Ade has had nu ...

- Mike * Dean Marshall - Joe *

Ashley Brown Ashley Brown (born February 3, 1982) is an American singer and actress who is best known for playing the titular character in the United States national tour and Broadway productions of ''Mary Poppins''. Early life Brown was born February 3, 19 ...

- Johnny *

Andy Marshall Andrew John Marshall (born 14 April 1975) is an English former professional footballer who played for Norwich City, AFC Bournemouth, Gillingham, Ipswich Town, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Millwall, Coventry City and the England under-21 team. ...

- Addict * Junior Williams - Curtis

Production

Rude is the first feature film created by the filmmaking duo

and Damon D'Oliveira after they met and conceived the concept of the film at a Canadian Film Centre residency in 1991. Produced by

Conquering Lion Pictures Conquering Lion Pictures (CLP) is an independent Canadian film production company founded by Clement Virgo and Damon D'Oliveira. Virgo and D'Oliveira met in 1991 while studying at the Canadian Film Centre (CFC), and formed CLP while working on ' ...

with the assistance of the

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

, ''Rude'' was the first Canadian dramatic feature to be written, produced, and directed by an all-black team. It was hailed, along with '' Soul Survivor'', as ushering in a new

film aesthetic.

Awards

At TIFF, the film received an honorable mention from the jury for the Best Canadian Film award. The film received eight

Genie Award The Genie Awards were given out annually by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to recognize the best of Canadian cinema from 1980–2012. They succeeded the Canadian Film Awards (1949–1978), known as the "Etrog Awards" for sculptor ...

nominations at the 16th Genie Awards in 1996, for

Best Picture The following is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various films, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Bes ...

Best Director Best Director is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to: Film awards * AACTA Award for Best Direction * Academy Award for Best Director * As ...

(Virgo), Best Supporting Actor (Johnson), Best Supporting Actress (Crawford), Best Screenplay (Virgo), Best Cinematography ( Barry Stone), Best Editing ( Susan Maggi) and Best Original Score ( Aaron Davis and John Lang).

Restoration

In 2017 the film was digitally restored by

Technicolor Technicolor is a family of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes. The first version, Process 1, was introduced in 1916, and improved versions followed over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black-and ...

, Toronto and Montreal, under the supervision of Virgo and producer Damon D'Oliveira. The restored version screened in the Cinematheque section of the

2017 Toronto International Film Festival The 42nd annual Toronto International Film Festival was held from September 7 to 17, 2017. There were fourteen programs, with the Vanguard and City to City programs both being retired from previous years, with the total number of films down by ...

References

External links

* {{Clement Virgo 1995 films 1995 crime drama films 1995 LGBTQ-related films Canadian LGBTQ-related films English-language Canadian films Films directed by Clement Virgo Canadian Film Centre films Canadian boxing films 1990s hood films Regent Park 1990s English-language films 1990s American films 1990s Canadian films Canadian crime drama films LGBTQ Black Canadian culture LGBTQ-related crime drama films English-language crime films