Award-winning filmmaker Rahul Chaturvedi attended George Brown College’s School of Continuing Education, pursuing his passions and a successful secondary career.
(Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival Photo Credit: Mike Tjioe)
Indo-Canadian filmmaker Rahul Chaturvedi has enjoyed a meteoric rise to success. In 2016, he won the Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival Pitch Competition with the script for his short film Forbidden Tikka Masala, which premiered at the 2018 Edmonton International Film Festival and has since played at several festivals across three continents. The film recently won two awards at the Toronto Short Film Festival and won the Audience Choice award at the Houston Asian American Pacific Islander Film Festival. Rahul was also selected as one of the filmmakers in the Reelworld Film Festival’s Emerging 20 Program in 2017. Last year, Rahul again won the Reel Asian Pitch Competition with his latest story, Namaste, Santa.
George Brown offers a route to a passion-based secondary career
Rahul, who immigrated to Canada from Mumbai, India, studied computer science at university and works full-time as a UX writer for a technology company. Before he started taking courses at George Brown College in 2013, however, Rahul dreamt of being a director and screenwriter.
“I’ve always had a passion for cinema and other forms of storytelling,” he says. “I’ve always seen filmmaking as an evolution of my passion for storytelling and films that I wanted to put into practice.”
Then he discovered George Brown College, a leader in continuing education with a comprehensive selection of courses and programs, and with teachers who come highly recommended. George Brown’s School of Continuing Education allows students to supplement their careers or to change career directions as they explore their interests and gain new skills.
Giving students the tools and confidence they need
Within a short time, Rahul was taking continuing education courses in screenwriting and in film and video — and loving it.
“I decided to take an evening course at George Brown and had such a positive experience that I continued taking additional courses there,” says Rahul. “The teachers are practicing professionals from the industry and you also meet people from varied backgrounds in the classes, who can help make you aware of new career avenues that you may not have considered previously. I really benefited from the classroom experience and the assignments.”
Rahul was able to personalize his learning by choosing courses of interest in different subjects, acquiring the skills and knowledge he needed to further his filmmaking dreams. The school’s flexible schedules also appealed to him, and he took courses in the evenings as he continued with his day job.
“I paced my courses, usually taking one course per semester,” he remembers. “I would dedicate one evening every week to the class, and time over the weekend to assignments. I could really customize my college experience according to my lifestyle.”
Exploring his passion and interest in film production and screenwriting led Rahul to his new, secondary career, from which he has derived much satisfaction and many achievements. “George Brown gave me the tools to create my own stories and the confidence to present my ideas to other industry professionals,” he says.
Learn more about courses and programs in screenwriting and in film and video at George Brown College’s School of Continuing Education.
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