FERNTV Interview with Ian Bawa of Strong Son @TIFF 2026

FERNTV sat down with filmmaker Ian Bawa to discuss Strong Son, a deeply personal film that explores family, masculinity, grief, and the complicated relationship between a father and son. During our conversation, Bawa opened up about the experiences that shaped the film and how he transformed something so intimate into a story that audiences could connect with. At its heart, Strong Son examines the expectations placed on men to remain strong while revealing the vulnerability that often exists beneath the surface.

Speaking with Bawa gave us a deeper understanding of the emotion behind Strong Son and the importance of telling stories rooted in lived experience. He reflected on the relationship at the centre of the film and the process of bringing such personal material to the screen with honesty and humour. The result is a story that feels specific to Bawa’s own experience while touching on something much more universal: how fathers and sons communicate, how families deal with loss, and what it really means to be “strong.”