STRONG SON TO PREMIERE AT TIFF 2026

We are very excited to share that Ian Bawa’s feature directorial debut, Strong Son, will have its world premiere this fall at the Toronto International Film Festival!

The film follows a former South Asian bodybuilder who moves back in with his aging father to become his primary caregiver, forcing him to balance the physical strength that once defined him with the mental and emotional challenges of caring for the man who raised him.

STRONG SON is based on the short film Ian made with his dad before he died, which premiered at TIFF in 2020. That short led to MY SON WENT QUIET and THE BEST, a pseudo-sequel that also premiered at TIFF. Together, they became what Ian calls his Sad Dad series, and ultimately led him to this feature.

Strong Son is distributed by Farpoint Distribution and will screen at TIFF as part of the Discovery Program.

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Director/Writer: Ian Bawa
Producers: Ian Bawa, Markus Henkel, Fritzi Adelman
Executive Producers: Kyle Bornais, Kathleen Easton, Evan Johnson, Galen Johnson
Associate Producer/First Assistant Director: Haley Charney
Production Manager: Drew Scurfield
Principal Cast: Mandeep Sodhi, Amrit Parbhakar, Raj Dhesi, Michaela Kurimsky, Quinn Greene, Erik Athavale
Casting: Lori Stefaniuk (Next Casting)
Cinematographer: Markus Henkel
Editors: Ian Bawa, Markus Henkel, Ted Husband
Production Designer: Jillian Groen
Costume Designer: Willow Harvey
Hair/Makeup: Sarah Brooker
Gaffer: Nate Bower
Sound: Max Walter
Original Score: Milos Mitrovic, Max Walter, Amine Bouzaher
Production Companies: Farpoint Films, Thin Stuff Productions
Financial Support: Telefilm Canada, Manitoba Film & Music, ACTRA Manitoba
Industry Partners: TIFF, On Screen Manitoba, Winnipeg Film Group
Developed with support from: TIFF Filmmaker Lab 2021, Reelworld E20 Program 2021, Norman Jewison Canadian Film Centre Directors’ Lab 2023