top of page

showreel

Vancouver based filmmaker and post-production editor working with production companies and brand creatives who seek to critically engage with their audiences and find the most aesthetically pleasing, socially relevant and emotionally impactful presentation of their product, service and brand.

Fuelled by passion, fighting for respect: World Kickboxing Champion Farinaz Lari

Fuelled by passion, fighting for respect: World Kickboxing Champion Farinaz Lari

Farinaz Lari is gym owner, personal trainer, coach, professional fighter, and a world kickboxing champion- the first Iranian woman to win the World kickboxing championship. Farinaz Lari grew up in Tehran and although she dreamed of becoming a martial artist, she was not allowed to pursue the sport because “it wasn’t right for girls.” At age 18, she used her wages from her retail job to take a fitness kickboxing class and she fell in love. “It was it was a kickboxing class with a few girls and a female instructor. It wasn't really serious. And again, at that time it most women were focused on getting fit. After the first session, I was like, ‘Okay, so how do you fight? How do I learn how to fight?’ And then people said, ‘You've got to get a male instructor because women don't teach fighting only men do’.” She was determined to throw herself into the sport and become a fighter, and convinced one of Iran’s top coaches Ali Khanjari, to take her on. She began competing and eventually fighting for Iran in international competitions. Fighting for Iran meant doing so in a hijab with arms and legs covered. Female athletes were treated with less respect and Farinaz remembers a time when the president of the federation told her she couldn’t fight because he didn’t like her attire. Farinaz and her family moved to Canada. “When you move to Canada as a permanent resident, you are still a citizen of another country. So as a citizen of Iran, I was still with the national team of Iran. But I was a permanent resident in Canada working. So every time there was a fight, I was called in for the training camp and then sent off with a team in order to compete, and then I would come back. And that was till October 2013.” In 2014, I become a Canadian citizen. And that's when I wanted to switch teams. In 2013, managed to become the first Iranian woman to win the WAKO world kickboxing championship in 2013. In 2014, after her win, Farinaz became a Canadian citizen and wanted to join Team Canada. Iranian officials responded by accusing her of treason, and handing her two suspensions that left her unable to fight for four years. “There was always this tension of women shouldn't be talking. They shouldn't be having opinions. So I think that bothered them was the fact that I was special, you know, and they were trying to make it make me not very special, making me feel like I don't have a chance if I'm not with them.“ “I was always angry, I was always so mad at what happened, there wasn't a day that I wouldn't think about it. But I put all of that energy into training. I was constantly exercising constantly sparring constantly, you know, trying to up my game. My biggest motto is just to be 1% better than yesterday.” Her passion for the sport and a determination to prove herself, kept her motivated to continue training so she’d be in prime condition when the restriction was lifted. Farinaz is now a member of Team Canada and fights professionally. In 2016, she was the Canadian National Amateur Flyweight Muay Thai Champion. She owns and operates District Warrior, a kickboxing and Muay Thai training studio, with her coach (and now husband) Ali. ABOUT TRUE CALLING: Our philosophy is simple: love what you do. Whatever you're passionate about and decide to pursue in life, get after it. Embrace that gut instinct that knows when you are being true to yourself and do something, however big or small, to make a difference to the world in your own unique way. True Calling is a media company that produces short, inspiring documentaries about people who love what they do. Cinematic and inspiring, our feel-good videos are built for the web, with a reach of 44M+ worldwide. True Calling compels viewers with both branded and non-branded episodes on human ambition, across a variety of digital platforms, including Amazon and Discovery Education. Website: http://truecallingmedia.com/ Follow us and help share our stories!
Profanity: How this Vancouver designer is shaking up the fashion world by refusing to blend in

Profanity: How this Vancouver designer is shaking up the fashion world by refusing to blend in

Lillea Goian stands out. And she wouldn’t have it any other way. This 20-year-old fashion designer is pushing boundaries with bright, gender-fluid outfits that explore the concept of individuality. The clothing is vibrant, bold, exciting and expressive with a sense of humour. Her work has been featured in Vogue, Nylon, Forbes magazine and she’s had shows at Tokyo, New York and Vancouver Fashion week. “People might think it’s odd. But people are going to respect the fact that I’m not just doing what everybody else is doing.” Growing up in Nelson, BC, Lillea was obsessed with fashion at an early age. “As a kid fashion totally did define who I was. I just knew I wanted to do something in the fashion world. My mom, she would take me to all the funky little consignment stores and dress me and cool stuff. I would just play dress up and change my outfit like six times a day.” She moved to Vancouver to enroll in fashion school. “Fashion school was not what I expected. I started to realize that I wasn't the same as everyone else in the fashion industry. And I walked in and I was like oh my god, I don't fit it. Everybody looked, I don't know, really girly. I saw all the girls in their little like high heels, and their skinny jeans with the rips in the knees... and so I tried to fit in and I did that for three or four months. And then I was like, ‘I want to do me – end of story’.” From that point on, Lillea decided to remain true to herself and bring her eccentric and unique sensibility to her clothing design - and her clothing line Profanity was born. “I hope that my story can help people understand that it's totally okay to be yourself. And like, if you feel out of place… that may not be a bad thing, and like that may develop into something really beautiful.” ABOUT TRUE CALLING: Our philosophy is simple: love what you do. Whatever you're passionate about and decide to pursue in life, get after it. Embrace that gut instinct that knows when you are being true to yourself and do something, however big or small, to make a difference to the world in your own unique way. True Calling is a media company that produces short, inspiring documentaries about people who love what they do. Cinematic and inspiring, our feel-good videos are built for the web, with a reach of 44M+ worldwide. True Calling compels viewers with both branded and non-branded episodes on human ambition, across a variety of digital platforms, including Amazon and Discovery Education. Website: http://truecallingmedia.com/ Follow us and help share our stories!

post-production

cinematography

TO FOLLOW (UBC Freeride 2016 Intersection Submission)

TO FOLLOW (UBC Freeride 2016 Intersection Submission)

When we were kids, our imagination took us places we'd never otherwise be able to go: to the places with soft snow and big flakes. We dreamed of riding down steep mountainsides and through mysterious snow-capped forests. We always wondered what this world would look like if we could bring along our closest friends. With help from 40 UBC Freeride athletes, the paths of inspiration are revealed to lie both ahead and behind us in time. Which ever way we look there is always someone to follow. Filmed entirely in 7 days for the World Ski and Snowboard Festival’s Intersection competition, each film had to include 30 seconds of on-resort footage (at Whistler Blackcomb), 30 seconds of park footage, and be shot within 100 km of Whistler. To Follow is a product of this competition which has been re-edited for online release. FILMMAKER CREDITS: TIM SAYLOR: director, lead editor, colourist, writer, cinematographer SETH GILLIS: director, production manager, casting manager, assistant editor, cinematographer NATHAN STARZYNSKI: director, executive producer, cinematographer, assistant editor ATHLETE CREDITS: UBC: Conor MacDonald, Camilla Loughlin, Carlene Loughlin, Zack Wilson, Stirling Bell, Brody McLaughlin, Rob Leigh, Kenny Leigh, Ella Both, Jacob Boyd, Liam Upton, Cobo Alvarez de Toledo, Jeremy Acland, Dylan Runner, Katie Cullen, Jen Goodale, David Schuman, Marte Lepperod, Dan Rohn, Ty Ulrich, Connor Browne, Jamie Browne, Cam Browne, Jack Edgar, Jamie Macklem, Essez Prescott, Garrett Knochenmus, Janek Nowicki, Byron Estey, Henry Eckert YOUTH: Cole Constantini, Daniel Gannon, Dax Francis, Dylan Stebeleski, Kekoa Thomas, Kenta Tanaka (Delivered May 2016)
bottom of page