TFS Online Instructor Kaveh Mohebbi Wins WGC Screenwriting Award for ‘18 to 35’
When the Writers Guild of Canada announced Kaveh Mohebbi’s name as the winner of the Best Short Series Screenwriting Award, he knew it wasn’t just his win to celebrate.
The Writing for Film & TV instructor at Toronto Film School Online had the whole cast and crew of 18 to 35 beside him at Koerner Hall in downtown Toronto on April 27 during the WGC’s 30th Annual Screenwriting Awards, and the victory was as much theirs as his.
“I think we saw any win of the night as a collective win for the team. The entire 18 to 35 team is a loving and supportive bunch, especially Rahul Chaturvedi, the co-creator of the show,” Mohebbi said.
“He was competing against me in the same category, which made the win feel a bit awkward, but we hugged each other and he couldn’t have been more supportive.”
With a second season for 18 to 35 still on the wish list, Mohebbi said the attention the WGC Screenwriting Award brings to the show couldn’t have come at a better time.
“We’re a teeny tiny series in comparison to things you’ll find on Crave, Netflix, and the CBC, so any recognition that might help bring more of a spotlight onto the show and its amazing team is a win,” he said of 18 to 35, whose first season is currently streaming on Bell Fibe TV1.
“We still have our fingers crossed for a second season and this definitely helps get some attention on the project.”
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About the Show
18 to 35 follows Misha Patel (played by Natalia Gracious) and her coworkers as they manage the Crown Jewel Youth Hostel, a perpetually struggling London, Ontario-based operation whose quirky guests are a constant source of chaos.
Mohebbi’s WGC Award-winning, 12-minute episode, “Buck Mustang” (Season 1, Episode 4), sees a notorious 60-something party legend book a room during homecoming, causing bedlam amongst the staff. The character of Buck Mustang grew out of a writers’ room conversation between Mohebbi and Chaturvedi about the kinds of people who might turn up at a youth hostel in a university town.
“We wanted to build off the Van Wilder trope, but not just a man in his late 20s still in college, but what if it was someone in their 60s?” he recalled. “The idea of arrested development pushed to its extreme made me laugh.”
Mohebbi gives full credit to actor Seán Cullen for bringing Buck Mustang’s antics to such vivid life on the screen: “He was probably younger than the role we were envisioning, but he’s such a talent and brought the character to new heights,” he said. “It was such fun!”
On Co-Producing and Writing
Mohebbi points to the “massively creative” team behind 18 to 35 as his main reason for joining the project. The team includes director Chaturvedi and his co-creator Charlie Whalley, who both serve executive producers, producers and writers on the show, writer and executive producer Luisa Alvarez Restrepo, and Kim’s Convenience and Run the Burbs star Andrew Phung, who acts in two episodes and also serves as executive producer.
“(They) are all intelligent, talented producer juggernauts in their own right. Getting an opportunity to work with them on anything is a pure joy and it was a no-brainer to be on this project full of love and passion,” he said of his involvement.
As a both a co-producer and writer on 18 to 35, Mohebbi said his expanded duties allowed him to extend his critical thinking skills as a writer beyond the page, giving him exposure to different parts of the process of bring a series to the screen – including casting and production conversations.
“Seeing the evolution of the characters from beyond the page is an invaluable education that every writer should adopt if the opportunities present themselves,” he said.
Advice for Emerging Writers
In his Drama Writing course at Toronto Film School Online, Mohebbi said the most common pitfalls he sees aspiring writers falling into is chasing trends and treating structure as a rigid set of rules.
“Although I think it’s important to learn good structure early in your career, it’s something that should be used more as a guide than a strict rule to adhere to,” he said, noting that the formats of shows are so ever-evolving – from digital shorts, to features, to half hours, to one hours – that there really is no one true structure to stick to, anyway.
“Once you learn the fundamentals of structure, allow yourself to break free from the constraints and experiment with something off the wall,” he advised. “You might surprise yourself and learn something about your writing you never knew you had in you.”
On chasing trends, his advice is likewise direct: “Don’t write a hospital procedural just because The Pitt is hot. Don’t write a queer sports story cause Heated Rivalry is so popular right now. Write the story you would want to watch.”
The other lesson he emphasizes with his students is the importance of theme – knowing not just what your story is about, but why you’re the one telling it.
“Being able to tell someone why you, specifically you, are interested in telling this particular story is just as important in the pitch as the details of what happens in the plot,” he advised.
What’s Next
Mohebbi isn’t slowing down. He is currently working alongside Chaturvedi again, this time serving as co-executive producer and writer on Late Bloomer – a scripted comedy series that follows burgeoning content creator Jasmeet Dutta as he tries to balance his ambitions for success with his commitment to family, community and culture.
The third season of the show just premiered on Crave on April 24th – and Mohebbi’s excited about this next instalment.
“I’m immensely proud of the show and think we have a lot of fun stuff in store for this season,” he said, teasing that his own episode, which drops May 15, is “a fun little format breaker to the rest of the season.”
As for the writers coming up behind him, he has one final piece of advice that speaks to his own journey as much as theirs:
“Be patient with your dream. Success always seems like it’s overnight, especially online. You never see the years and years of tears and sweat poured into all those wins. The most important part about success is perseverance,” he said.
“When you get your show off the ground, you’ll look back and see it was a long wait, but it was worth it.”
