Joseph Amodei is president and CEO of
Virgil Films & Entertainment, which he founded in 2003 to develop, acquire, market, distribute and produce movies in the narrative feature film, documentary, episodic television and special-interest categories. Amodei has enjoyed a career in the film industry for nearly 40 years. Under Amodei’s leadership the company has released such award-winning hits as
Restrepo,
Glen Campbell I’ll Be Me, I Am Chris Farley, Forks Over Knives, Bridegroom and the film that started it all and put his company on the map
Super Size Me, Morgan Spurlock’s notorious take-down of fast-food convenience. Amodei’s personal love for independent films and documentaries made its way into his business life when he became president of USA Home Entertainment in 2000. While shepherding films like Steven Soderbergh’s
Traffic, Spike Jones’
Being John Malkovich and Robert Altman’s
Gosford Park into the home entertainment world, Amodei learned what it took to get these films noticed. In addition to running Virgil, Amodei has put his efforts into producing, beginning with
Who Do I Think I Am?, the Clarence Clemons documentary. He also has worked as executive producer on the Netflix documentary series “Happy Jail” which earned him a Telly Award and the inspirational documentary
Seven Yards. Most recently Amodei was awarded a New York Emmy for his work on
The Real Bedford Falls: It’s a Wonderful Life. In looking back on his career and the recent 20
th anniversary of Virgil Films Amodei said “None of this would be possible without the help and support of about a thousand people in and out of the industry. I’ve had great staff members, friends and mentors along the way and a great family behind me too. You need to have that support to survive the rollercoaster ride of being in this business. It all started with my love of movies. And that’s where it’s still at today.”
CREDITS, AWARDS:
Video Industry Aids Action Committee (VIACC) Visionary Award Recipient 2005
Woodstock Film Festival Judge 2016
Asbury Park Film Festival Judge 2015, 2016,2017
Napa Valley Film Festival Artist in Residency 2018
Member of Light of Day Foundation since 2012
Member of fund-raising committee for 9-11 Garden of Reflection Memorial, Bucks County
2020 New York Emmy Award Winner Long Form Nostalgia “THE REAL BEDFORD FALLS: IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE.”
2019 Telly Award Winner Best Documentary Series “HAPPY JAIL”
Named one of the top 20 Indie Power Players in 2021 and 2022 by Media Play News Magazine