Tyson Caron is a proud dad, husband, son, friend, a local Winnipeg filmmaker, and coffee drinker. He’s a person who puts relationships first. As a writer, director, producer of both documentary and fiction films, relationships are at the heart of his art form.
Tyson grew up in Kenora but has made Winnipeg his home for the past 20 years. Which is the same length of time he’s been a practicing artist. Although he will tell you it still feels like he’s just starting his creative journey.
His journey into film began with one short film screenplay. “It was the first fictional project that I wrote and finished (Eugene). I had no idea what I was doing but wrote something personal, which is what I always try to do now. It ended up winning a filmmaking competition, that no longer exists called the Corus Entertainment Young Filmmaker’s Initiative.”
Bitten by the film bug Tyson’s first ‘real’ film work came on the set of the children’s television series, Tipi Tales. Tipi Tales was a Canadian children’s television series about a First Nations family living in a woodlands cottage, and focused on teaching children about the importance of family and friends, as well as First Nations culture. The show was shot in studio on tiny sets, with all the characters represented by puppets. “I got to do a bit of everything, from picking moss in the forest for dressing sets, to ordering lunches for the cast and crew. Working as a trainee at Original Pictures and being mentored by Kim Todd; Kim was so generous and let me read scripts and sit in on meetings. Learning and being supported by the team at Eagle Vision – Lisa Meeches, Kyle Irving, Rebecca Gibson and Richard Duffy, on so many different projects including my feature film Lovesick.” It was these key experiences that helped Tyson develop his career.
Tyson has been a member of Creative Manitoba on and off for about 10 years. The reason Tyson joined CM was when a young talented writer and filmmaker, Colton Unruh, reached out to Tyson about being his mentor, for the Careers in the Arts Youth and Young Adult Mentorship program. An experience and relationship that both participants found very rewarding and continues to this day.
“Colton Unruh and I have developed a collaborative relationship and working on some exciting projects together. Being a mentor and guiding / helping the next generation of filmmakers is extremely important to me and something that I continue to do. I am a better writer, filmmaker from the process; I learned a great deal about myself and how important it is to be supportive, helpful, collaborative and give back to our arts (film & tv) community.”
“Having an organization like Creative Manitoba is extremely valuable; it is essential that people have mentors and helpers to guide their careers; and that there is a professional arts organization like CM in Manitoba that provides support to artists who are just starting out. Sometimes people don’t know where to start or who to go to for help. I am all about building community and helping people. It makes our community better when new and emerging artists are supported in the right ways. I don’t know where I would be without mentors and people like Kim Todd, that helped my career. I am so glad I have been able to return this support and that there is a professional organization like Creative Manitoba in our province to provide a structured program for arts mentorship in a variety of disciplines.”
Tyson’s joy comes from finding the real moments in a scene or story that are honest and truthful, and working through creative ideas and collaborating with fellow crew members and storytellers. His goals are, “To continue to tell meaningful stories, make films, work, and collaborative with likeminded creative people, especially my family (wife) and friends!” Tyson has discovered from his work in film and to all aspects of his life, building and nurturing relationships are essential to a life well lived. Add in one really good cup of coffee and that’s one sweet collaboration.