Film Production Student Jishan Bassi Named Latest Recipient of BMO BIPOC Creative Achievement Award

Film Production student Jishan Bassi has been named the latest recipient of the BMO BIPOC Creative Achievement Award.

Now in its third year, the quarterly bursary celebrates the creativity and promise of full-time Toronto Film School (TFS) students who identify as Black, Indigenous or a Person of Colour, helping foster greater diversity and representation across Canada’s creative industries. As this term’s recipient, Bassi will receive $2,000 to support his studies and creative work.

For Bassi, filmmaking is ultimately about understanding people – and telling the stories that might otherwise go unseen.

At 18, he left India and moved to Canada alone – arriving with uncertainty and financial responsibilities but determined to build a life of his own.

“As a South Asian student in a new environment, I encountered cultures and perspectives that changed how I understood the world,” he said. “Navigating this made me aware of how our backgrounds shape how we perceive ourselves and the world. I realized I did not want to simply experience other people’s stories; I wanted to learn to tell them.”

From Cars to the Stories Behind Them

Now studying Film Production at TFS, Bassi has a clear vision for the kind of creator he wants to become: a documentary filmmaker focused on people and communities built around niche passions.

One of his primary areas of interest is a community that has long been part of his own life – automotive culture.

While cars initially drew him in, it is the people behind them that have become the focus of his filmmaking ambitions: drivers, mechanics, families, enthusiasts and the wider motorsport communities that form around a shared passion.

“I am interested in what makes people dedicate so much of themselves to something they love, and how a shared passion can bring together people from different backgrounds,” he said.

As a person of colour entering automotive and film spaces, Bassi also brings his own perspective to the communities he documents.

“I understand what it feels like to enter a community without seeing many people who share your story,” he said. “That perspective is something I want to bring behind the camera: not as the focus of every story, but as a part of how I see and understand the people I film.”

His work with Toronto Motorsports Park’s media team has already given him an opportunity to explore that approach firsthand. There, he has found stories that extend beyond the cars themselves – stories about belonging, family and dedication.

“I want to create a series of documentary pieces that introduce audiences to the cultures they may otherwise never encounter,” he said.

Learning the Craft of Documentary Filmmaking

After graduating from TFS, Bassi plans to gain hands-on experience working on professional documentary productions, learning every stage of the process from research and story development, to camera operation, sound, lighting, interviewing and post-production.

He also plans to continue making his own short documentaries within automotive communities, using each project to develop his directing style, strengthen his portfolio and deepen his approach to documentary storytelling.

Ultimately, he hopes to move from assisting on other productions to directing his own documentaries. His long-term goal is to establish a production house with a small team of filmmakers who share his vision for people-focused storytelling, while creating a space where diverse creators can contribute their own perspectives.

Creating Opportunities Behind the Camera

For Bassi, the BMO BIPOC Creative Achievement Award represents more than financial assistance with his education. Currently balancing his studies with significant financial responsibilities and two jobs, the award would allow him to reduce some of his working hours and dedicate more time to filmmaking.

That could mean spending a full day on a documentary shoot, dedicating uninterrupted time to editing and story development, travelling to motorsport events, or covering practical costs such as transportation, external SSDs and audio equipment.

The support could also give him greater flexibility to pursue valuable (albeit low-paying) entry-level production opportunities that provide the mentorship and experience he needs to become a director.

“TFS has certainly given me the confidence to view filmmaking as a career I can genuinely pursue,” he said. “However, what I need now is the opportunity to turn that foundation into professional experience, relationships, and a strong body of work.”

Already taking those first steps through his work with Toronto Motorsports Park, Bassi hopes the award will help him develop his craft, strengthen his portfolio and tell the stories of the people behind the passions that bring them together.

For more information about the BMO BIPOC Creative Achievement Award and how to apply, go to https://www.torontofilmschool.ca/admissions/tuition/.