An Industry Case Study
Narrative | Dramatic Features
Film Name: Strong Son
Genre: Drama
Length of film: 3 minutes
Date: October 5 2021
Director: Ian Bawa
Producer: Ian Bawa
Executive Producer: Ian Bawa
Writer: Ian Bawa
Cinematographer: Markus Henkel
Editor: Ian Bawa
Composer: Milos Mitrovic
Production Company: Ian Bawa
Budget: $50.00
Financing: Self-financed
Shooting Format: Super 8
Screening Format: HD
World Premiere: NA
Awards: Winner of Kodak’s Shot on Film Award – 8MM (Holly Shorts Film Festival)
Website: https://www.ianbawa.com/films/strong-son/
The Official Trailer for Strong Son
Watch The Trailer for Strong Son directed by Ian Bawa
A Short Biography of Ian Bawa
Ian has produced, directed, and worked on features, short films, documentaries, music videos. His work has won accolades and recognition locally and globally, and published in Ain’t it Cool News, The AV Club, and awarded a Vimeo Staff Pick for his film The Champ.
His film, Imitations, premiered at the 2016 TIFF with great acclaim, and toured globally, playing at Vancouver International Film Festival, Fantastic Fest, and more. Ian’s film, Tapeworm, premiered at 2019 Vancouver International Film Festival and 2020 SlamDance Film Festival. His latest film, Strong Son, premiered at the 2020 TIFF, 2020 Vancouver International Film Festival, and the 2021 Aspen Shortsfest.
The Ian Bawa Interview
indieactivity: What is your film about?
Ian Bawa (IF): Strong Son is a short dramatic film about a South Asian father as he attempts to give life and marital advice to his bodybuilding and image-obsessed son.
Set entirely in a gym, the film begins with a father as he watches his son perform a variety of bodybuilding exercises. As the father watches, he narrates his relationship with his son, and critiques aspects of his life, such as his body, his marital status, and his obsession with working out.
The father is also seen helping the son workout. For example, he sits on him providing him with extra weight with certain exercises. The film ends with both father and son leaving the gym together, as the father explains that he is old, and weak, and alone and his son has to be and stay strong in order to take care of him.
Strong Son is a personal film about my insecurities in life, my struggle to uphold cultural traditions, and my relationship with my father.
The film stars my actual father, Jagdeep Singh Bawa, and Mandeep Sodhi, a bodybuilder from India, who is essentially playing an extreme version of myself. As an overweight child, I was body shamed with passive comments from my father which, as I got older, caused me to become quite obsessed with exercise, health, and working out. In addition to this, as I have gotten older, my father’s health has dwindled to the point that I have become his full time provider, enabling me to see a future of what could happen if I do not take care of myself.
Finally, the film deals with the idea that as millennials our parents are getting older, there will be a point where we need to take care of them, and how emotionally and physically hard that will be when or if that day comes. Such is why our lead character (the son) needs to be ‘strong’.
Tell us about the festival run, marketing and sales?
Ian Bawa (IF): The success of Strong Son has been due (in my opinion) to the cultural nature and family values the film holds. The film is essentially a doc/narrative film as it’s about my life. The headlines when the film came out (premiering at the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival), were usually about a filmmaker who had made a film about his relationship with his father, starring his actual father.
From the premiere at TIFF where Strong Son was labelled on a number of Top Ten lists, the film has circulated to a number of ‘Oscar Qualifying’ film festivals, including Aspen Shortsfest, and HollyShorts Film Festival. The film was released over a year ago and through word of mouth, it has continued to play into 2021.
Give the full Official Synopsis for your film?
Ian Bawa (IF): Strong Son is a short dramatic film about a father who tells the story of his relationship with his bodybuilding son. Set entirely in a gym, the film begins with a father as he watches his son perform a variety of bodybuilding exercises. As the father watches, he narrates his relationship with his son, and critiques aspects of his life, such as his body, his marital status, and his obsession with working out.
The father is also seen helping the son workout. For example, he sits on him providing him with extra weight with certain exercises. The film ends with both father and son leaving the gym together, as the father explains that he is old, and weak, and alone and his son has to be and stay strong in order to take care of him.
Development & Financing?
Ian Bawa (IF): Last year, my partner broke-up with me on my birthday. I wish I could say that I handled it well, but sadly, I didn’t. The next day, my dad took me out for brunch as a post-birthday celebration. At the restaurant, I broke down crying, explaining to him how hurt I felt and how I just couldn’t handle my emotions. He told me to, ‘stop crying,’ ‘be strong’ and to, ‘be a man.’
I felt embarrassed that I had just cried in public and in front of my dad. I calmed myself down, and my dad and I ate our meal. As we were leaving the restaurant, my dad handed me a birthday card that said, “Happy Birthday, Ian – Time to settle down,” and I began crying again. A few days later, I wrote the script of what would be the short version of ‘Strong Son.’
This particular moment in my life, where I was so embarrassed to be crying in public and was told not to, has brought up many memories of my childhood. The idea that men should not be vulnerable has haunted me and has caused me to deal with many of my own mental health problems. This film will be a challenge for me to write, but it is also an opportunity for me to deal with a lot of my own personal trauma. Through reflection, we heal, and that is why this film is so important to me.
There was no funding for this film. This film was essentially part of a small One-Take, Super 8 film festival, which cost me $50 to apply. This has been the little film that could, and has blown up beyond my wildest dream.
Ian Bawa (IF): As a One take, Super 8, there wasn’t a lot of planning to this film. I had an idea of a bodybuilder and his father working out at the gym. I knew a South Asian bodybuilder, and I asked my father to be in it. We shot the film in two hours, and sent it on its way. The next day, I recorded all the audio of my father and pieced it together.
The film premiered at the super 8 event with many people telling me I had something special. But then COVID -19 hit, and because I had nothing to do, I spent the next few months cleaning the film up and correcting the audio to the point where I became obsessive. Finally, I was done, and decided to submit to one of the biggest film festivals in the world, TIFF. The film was accepted and that was it.
Festival Preparation & Strategy?
Ian Bawa (IF): The film has blown up on its own. I honestly wish I did plan a bit better but the film being 3 minutes, really helped for other programmers to see it and pass it along. It’s a film that can easily be programmed and doesn’t ask for a lot. If there was a strategy I did do, I started reaching out to programmers and introducing myself. I did not ask for waivers, but said I had a film that just premiered at TIFF and hoped to have my film in their festival as well. That was it. It was a hustle move and that was as far as a strategy that I made for my film.
The Release?
IF: The release has been huge. As mentioned before, many press and news outlets from around the world jumped on the idea that a filmmaker made a film about his father, starring his own father. It was also a film that was about family and culture. It wasn’t in your face and didn’t ask for a lot, and therefore was widely accepted as digestible and enjoyable. The release of the film has been life changing to the point that I am now developing the film into a feature film.
Advice from the Filmmaker?
IF: You should always be vulnerable in your art. Strong Son is the most vulnerable film I have ever made and I believe that is one of the reasons for its success. Be vulnerable in your art, but be careful when you do so because you will be asked to continue to be vulnerable from there..
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