A South African Artventure

Black Canada Talking™ is a live online event that provides Black Canadians the opportunity to give their takes and POVs on stories that are of importance to them.

Our guest on the May 23, 2021 edition of Black Canada Talking™ was Ryan Singh.

A BIPOC TV and Film artist, Ryan began his career as an actor. His passion for storytelling led him to direct and produce before he began writing projects. Ryan has received several awards for his work. His films have screened at several film festivals globally.

In 2019, Ryan received an invitation to the 2019 Toronto Writer’s Conference and in 2020 he participated in the BIPOC Children TV Writing Boot Camp where he was mentored by several industry professionals from Nelvana, Disney, Netflix, Corus, CBS, NBC and started development on two television series.

Ryan continues to develop a slate of projects including two feature films supported by Telefilm Development Fund.

Ryan, Kirk Taylor, Dwayne Morgan and Aaron Manswell talked about Memento: A South African Artventure and H.E.N.R.I..

During the conversation, Ryan and his friends talked about:

Their involvement and process behind the documentary Memento: A South African Adventure
Ryan developing the story with the help of Dwayne being the spoken word artist for the documentary and Kirk being the editor
The theme and message the documentary conveys to the audience as well as what they have learned during the making of the story
Dwayne’s experience in South Africa while working on the documentary
A special moment that Ryan, Dwayne and Kirk experienced and learned while working on the documentary
The process behind working on H.E.N.R.I from Ryan, Aaron and Kirk’s perspective and the general message it conveys to the audience.
Ryan’s inspiration and personal life into working on this project compared to his involvement on the documentary
Ryan describing the cast and crew’s passion and dedication working on the film H.E.N.R.I.
Aaron’s involvement as the film composer for the movie H.E.N.R.I and the process behind the music
The changes within the film industry to when Ryan and Kirk first started to now
Their journey as filmmakers in the industry and being given more opportunities than ever before
Words of wisdom to BIPOC creators and any advice that they can use in the near future

Don’t like ads? Become a supporter and enjoy The Good Men Project ad free

Watch the full conversation on video:

Listen to the audio-only version:

Memento: A South African Artventure is a lively, energetic archival documentary that chronicles the maiden voyage of several Afro-Canadian persons and their friends on an excursion to South Africa. Their journey sees the adventurers bridge the knowledge of Africa from second-hand information to a first-hand experience as seen through the eyes of Spoken word artist Dwayne Morgan and Dancer April Mullings. Their journey is facilitated by Ramie Veerappan, a 79-year vibrant activist who lived through the apartheid era, left the country and later returned to the new South Africa, a place she always loves but now wants to share with the world.

H.E.N.R.I. follows a grieving 7-year-old Simon after the loss of his father, as he seeks answers from his Artificial Intelligence (AI) communicator while his mother and twin sister try to adjust to their new reality.

A family affair, H.E.N.R.I. was co-written by Singh and his six-year-old twins, Ava (Tall Boyz, Handmaid’s Tale) and Sebastian (Suits, Handmaid’s Tale, Silent) who also appear in the film.

100% of the cast of H.E.N.R.I. was BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour) and more than 80% of the crew was BIPOC or women, including DGC director Katarzyna Kochany, producer/actor Andrea Grant (Get Rich or Die Tryin’, The Listener), and composer Aaron Manswell. The entire VFX crew is BIPOC, including VFX artists Adrian Bobb, Colin Walcott, Cait Salmon, as well as Akash Singh and his team at Akash Productions.

H.E.N.R.I. is the recipient of seven Global awards, Programmed in 8+ festivals including a not yet released Oscar Qualifying festival. The film is playing in three film festivals including Calgary Black Film Festival, Hamilton Black Film Festival, and US premiere at the New York City Independent Film Festival.

You find out more information about Ryan via:

Home

***

The Good Men Project gives people the insights, tools, and skills to survive, prosper and thrive in today’s changing world. A world that is changing faster than most people can keep up with that change. A world where jobs are changing, gender roles are changing, and stereotypes are being upended. A world that is growing more diverse and inclusive. A world where working towards equality will become a core competence. We’ve built a community of millions of people from around the globe who believe in this path forward. Thanks for joining The Good Men Project.