Sebastian Singh appears in his first feature film at the Toronto International Film Festival
September 7, 2022
Before birth, twins Sebastian and Ava Singh were filmed by their dad as part of a filmmaking course.
Ryan Singh photographed his wife during the last months of her pregnancy in 2012.
The result was ‘Mom’, a short documentary he directed and edited that premiered at the 2013 ReelWord Film Festival in Toronto.
It is not surprising that the children have gravitated to acting.
Sebastian, who turns 10 on September 26, appears in his first feature film at the 47th annual Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) that starts on September 8.
He plays the younger version of Lamar Johnson’s lead character ‘Michael’, in Clement Virgo’s ‘Brother’ that makes its world premiere at TIFF that is considered the world’s leading public film festival.
The film is based on award-winning author David Chariandy’s book that won the 2017 Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize, the 2018 Toronto Book Award and the 2018 Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize.
Set in Scarborough in the 1990s, the novel is a coming-of-age story that follows two brothers of Trinidadian heritage confronted by prejudices and low expectations. A mystery unfolds when mounting tensions trigger a series of events that change the course of the brothers’ lives forever.
Singh, whose first solo project was shot a few months after he purchased his first video camera in 2006, said the family was ecstatic when they received an audition request from their agent.
“They were looking for a young boy to play the younger version of the lead,” he pointed out. “Our son auditioned, they liked what they saw and they called him back a few days later as they were preparing to go to camera.”
Sebastian was prepared for the role, having appeared in the 2020 short drama, ‘Silent’, that tells the story of a homeless boy reliving the day that will inform his future, and the sci-fi short film, ‘H.E.N.R.I’ that premiered at TIFF last year.
“He already had a few strong acting pieces that showed what he was capable of doing, so once the Director (Clement Virgo) spoke with him, he knew he had the person he wanted to go with and he was hired,” said the Guyanese-born filmmaker.
‘Brother’ was shot in Toronto.
“It was a beautiful experience and he worked more days than he was expected to,” Singh noted. “We made sure he got his school work done while he was on set.”
The Grade Five student enjoys acting.
“I like to meet new people and visit new places,” he said. “I just like having fun with other people.”
Cheryl Nelson-Singh has been an integral part of her children’s development.
“When we got the call that Sebastian got the lead role, we were really excited,” the Registered Nurse and Clinical Resource Leader said. “He prepared really hard for it. He did lots of reading and spent copious time trying to understand the script. Once he read it and met his co-star, they got along very well and everything fell into place.”
It helps that Sebastian is a fast learner and voracious reader.
“When he was younger and sick, I taught him to read in one week,” said Nelson-Singh who is the President of Community Unity Alliance. “By the time he got to kindergarten, he tested for gifted. He has also participated in Spelling Bee of Canada competitions.”
The Singh family recently participated in SickKids Public Service Announcement initiative.
Ryan Singh and his wife Cheryl Nelson-Singh with their children Sebastian and Ava (Photo by Ron Fanfair)
‘SickKidsMoms VS: Hards Days’ shares the heart wrenching experience of being the mother of a sick child. The creative, timed for Mother’s Day 2021, supports SickKids Foundation’s ‘Get Better Gifts’ program.
In addition to the short film, Cossette (the Canadian marketing communications company that worked on the project) created a three-minute video using some of the real videos of mothers matter-of-factly recounting the extraordinary daily challenges they face while caring for a sick child.
“I like to be in the background, but when Ryan insisted, I agreed to participate in the project,” said Nelson-Singh who is pursuing a Master’s in Nursing. “As an Emergency Nurse who has worked with sick children, I really connected with this initiative.”
Nelson-Singh won an award for Best Performance and the PSA clinched several honours at the 2022 Marketing Awards.
Ryan Singh is completing a project he started nine years ago after visiting Sri Lanka for the first time with then Scarborough-Rouge River Member of Parliament Rathika Sitsabaiesan who is a Professor at Centennial College.
With over 25 hours of video footage, they have turned what was supposed to be a journal of her experience into a documentary, ‘Ray of Hope’.
“Only now am I able to articulate what the story is to be and I need to get it out,” said Singh who completed high school at York Mills Collegiate Institute and a degree in Mass Communication & Media Studies at the University of Windsor in 2000.
Ava Singh has appeared in ‘H.E.N.R.I’, the CBC sketch comedy series, ‘Tallboyz’, that explores everything from infant sleep training to the country’s national sport, and ‘The Handmaid Tale’ that is a television series.
