Youth 4 Youth

Longtime friends, Arshad, Akram, Rohan, and Uzair grew up in the GTA and have been making films for as long as they can remember. While these films started as a bonding experience between friends, the four recently realized their videos were of high enough quality that they could form a business around their skills. This led the four to form StartBAD studios where they create narrative, commercial, and documentary works.

Friends from high school, Alex, Paul and Liam, shared a passion for the art of film. While their post-secondary pursuits may have separated them as Alex went to study psychology at Wilfred Laurier, Paul pursued his passion for Film Production at Ryerson, and Liam refined his acting talents at the Toronto Film School. Now that all three have finished up their education Alex and Paul have teamed up to form, Just2DPs, a Toronto based production company, with Liam as their go to talent in front of the camera.

An Ottawa native, Danny has always been passionate about design. It is a passion that led him to study Mechanical Engineering at the University of Toronto on a Schulich Leaders Scholarship. While there he developed an interest in product design and prides himself on his ability to expertly balance technical functionality with aesthetics. This passion for design is also what attracted him to pursue both film and graphic design, as he found them to be the perfect creative release from his more academic pursuits. While filmmaking may have started as a hobby Danny has found great success shooting wedding videos and commercials for local businesses.

Born in South Korea, Inha has always been passionate about graphic design, and filmmaking. She finds both fields the perfect way to express herself creatively and it is this passion that led her to study at Seneca College in Toronto. While at Seneca her passion for both graphic design and filmmaking continued to grow and she continued to refine her talent, which is reflected in the fact that she is the only participant in the contest to create both a poster and video that finished in the Top 5.

A Toronto resident, Kamal is a Film Studies student at Ryerson University. A passionate storyteller from a very young age, Kamal found the medium of film to be a natural fit for the stories he wanted to tell. His excitement for storytelling led him to become both a vlogger and a youtuber, where he creates content that documents his travels and highlights his latest commercial, music video, or narrative storytelling endeavor.

Currently residing in Kingston, Colton is a student at St. Lawrence College studying Advertising and Marketing. While a student, Colton founder CLC Media, a digital media agency that assists its clients in business development, event planning, and SEO. In addition to these offerings Colton also spearheaded CLC Media’s videography and photography services, where he personally created well received advertisements for a number of local businesses.

Lucas grew up in Brantford, Ontario and attended the University of Ottawa for philosophy and psychology. While there, Lucas developed an interest in both photography and videography. Now, Lucas is always looking for opportunities to further pursue his photography and videography interests. The Youth 4 Youth Digital Media Contest was an excellent opportunity to do exactly that! Lucas enjoyed participating in the contest and is looking forward to future opportunities in this field.

Charlotte Durnford-Dionne is a recent graduate from the Ontario College of Art and Design, where she studied Advertising. Charlotte is originally from Montreal. Although Charlotte does not have extensive experience creating films, she loves learning new things and was eager to take on the challenge of the Y4Y Contest. In the future, Charlotte hopes to have a career where she can be wildly creative and bring joy to her community. Hailey Asquin is also a recent graduate from the Ontario College of Art and Design, where she studied graphic design. Hailey taught herself videography, as a lot of communication is now done through video. After graduation, Hailey strives to work in politics or for advocacy groups where she will use visual communication as a way to communicate public policy issues.

Sarah Wilson is from London, Ontario and works as a freelance videographer. Sarah also works at Best Buy as a Certified Sales Specialist, where she specializes in camera sales. In the fall of 2019, Sarah will be continuing her education at Fanshawe College for TV Broadcasting and Film Production. In the future, Sarah hopes to continue making an impact on the filmmaking community with her work and wants to make the male-dominated industry of filmmaking a place where woman can feel strong and powerful. Participating in the Youth 4 youth Digital Media Contest was another challenging, but rewarding filmmaking experience where her team had the opportunity to learn and share information that is relevant to many people these days, yet often overlook. She hopes her submission will help to educate and empower youth across Ontario!

Brian Mestdagh is also from London, Ontario and is currently enrolled in Police Foundations at Fanshawe College. Brian also works at Henry’s Camera Store as a Sony Master and Sales Specialist. Brian’s interest in film began in high school by accident, when he was placed in a film class because his desired course was full. This film class inspired a passion and creativity for film making that Brian has been developing over the past six years. Brian has been able to grow his passion of photography and make meaningful connections with others by working events such as the Juno Awards. Although Brian was hesitant at first about participating in the Y4Y Contest, Brian enjoyed the experience as he learned new design techniques and gained meaningful knowledge on non-traditional gambling forms that he has been able to share with others throughout the process.

Amir Tavassoly is a content creator on YouTube. He uses his passion for content creation in order to tell a story and raise awareness on social issues. On YouTube he is most famous for creating comedic videos and uniting people of different backgrounds and cultures through entertainment.

David Ward is a social work student with an interest in youth mental health. Video work and social change are passions he aims to pursue in his career.

Lael Nadua and Rustom Trayvilla aspire to influence and inspire people through the art of storytelling and filmmaking. They are founders of Live Forever films, their own wedding filmmaking company.