UWinnipeg alum Ian Bawa took a detour and found his path

Ian Bawa (BA 08) didn't always know he wanted to be a filmmaker. His first year as a student at The University of Winnipeg consisted of taking a variety of courses to "see what happened." "Naturally, by second to third year, I took a lot of courses that leaned towards criminal justice and political science," said Ian. "My parents always told me I would be a good lawyer. They said I have the gift of gab."

While attending University, Ian experienced the loss of his mother. Through his grief, he re-focused and finished his degree, but something didn't feel right. "The idea of sitting at a desk or going to law school gave me such anxiety and panic," said Bawa. Ian decided to take a year off and do something he'd always wanted to do, or something fun.

Meanwhile, to cope with the grief from the loss of his mother, Ian learned to play the guitar. "Guitar was a way to calm myself down," said Ian. "Then I wanted to see progression, so I filmed it and tried to make it sound better." Armed with a small camera, Ian became lost in hours of editing the videos and thought, "this could be a job!"

"Coming from an immigrant background, work is survival and happiness comes second," said Ian. "But I've been putting it where happiness is the forefront of what I want to do." Ian investigated the University of Winnipeg Theatre and Film Department and decided to give film a try.

The first year of film school came as a surprise. First year film students spend a lot of time watching films. "I met all these people who loved to talk about movies," said Ian. "I remember thinking, this is cool, I'm paying a lot of money to watch movies, which was awesome!"

Ian knew he needed something a little bit more non-traditional. So after first year, when Ian's father asked if it was time to reconsider law school, Ian thought, "I gotta give film a shot." By second year, Ian started making films and he was hooked.

Ian has zero regrets of the journey he has been on. "I got a lot from my first degree," said Ian. "I used the four years to figure myself out. Sometimes you have to do the wrong thing in order to find that right thing."

Film school became a place of belonging

Film school became the place where Ian felt he belonged. "The biggest thing I got out of film school was meeting people with the same mindset, said Ian. "I wasn't the weirdo, or the outsider. I became friends with people who are still my friends to this day."

One of Ian's highlights was the success he achieved in the University of Winnipeg Film Festival in his final year in the program. "I found out in my second year, that UWinnipeg had a Film Festival," said Ian. "I made awful films at that point. I submitted three to the festival and none of them made it in."

Determined to stay the course, Ian committed to learning everything he could when it came to making quality films. "I said to myself, I'm going to win everything at the next film festival. You throw it out in the world that you want to win and then make it happen," said Ian. "In the end I won best film, best director, best sound editing, and best actor."

Since 2008, Ian has not looked back. He has gone on to make movies that have screened across the world including Offline, The Champ, Tapeworm and Seeking Fire. He currently has a series on CBC Gem featuring himself and his dog, called Finding Diamonds.

Homecoming 2024: Stories from the Heart

On September 26, Ian will be one of the featured panelists at the UWinnipeg Homecoming Alumni Panel, Stories from the Heart: Alumni Filmmakers on the World Stage. Ian plans to show two very personal films that he believes showcase his journey as a filmmaker.

The first piece, Strong Son, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in 2020. "Strong Son began as a very personal and random side project," said Ian. It features his late father Jagdeep Singh Bawa as the father figure who tries to give life and marital advice to his bodybuilding- and image-obsessed son. Ian is currently in pre-production of his feature film Strong Son, which is based on his short film of the same name.

Ian will also show his short film The Best which is described as a sequel to Strong Son and features the same actor and themes of father-son relationships, mental health, male vulnerability, and male toxicity. The Best is currently screening at TIFF in Toronto.

For more information and to register for Stories from the Heart: Alumni Filmmakers on the World Stage, please visit the Homecoming 2024 website here.

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