Mentorship pair Ian Bawa and Taylor Brown took part in our Professional Mentorship Program in filmmaking and directing. Ian set up a bunch of networking opportunities for Taylor and introduced him to a ton of industry professionals and filmmakers. Ian helped Taylor work on his feature film script so that he could submit it to the Telefilm Talent to Watch program. They also worked on how to pitch Taylor’s web series to Bell MTS TV.
How was your experience in the mentorship program? Why do you think this mentorship was valuable to you?
“I think it’s very dependent on who you get. Your mentee must really want to learn from you. I was very lucky that Taylor sought me out and in truth, we have become friends. We are very similar people and I know our relationship has grown to the point where I can see us collaborating one day.” – Ian Bawa
“This program helped me find a path forward as a Director. My mentor inspired me and gave me practical steps to take in order to get where I want in my career.”– Taylor Brown
Ian Bawa is a filmmaker from Winnipeg, Manitoba. He’s best known for his films Offline, The Champ, Imitations, and Tapeworm. His latest short film Strong Son premiered at the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival, and later played at the 2020 Vancouver International Film Festival, and the 2020 Aspen Shortsfest. Ian is currently adapting Strong Son into a feature film, set to shoot in 2022.
I’m Taylor Brown and I have aspired to be a filmmaker since I was young. I am self-taught through years of trial and error, Creating movies at every opportunity with my circle of family and friends which grows bigger each project. I am taking every opportunity to produce films for competitions and local businesses but always find my way back to narrative. I want to show Canada and the world what Manitoba filmmakers can do.