Y Crazy Mind

With diversity finally on the rise in the entertainment industry, a new Toronto production company aims to shine a light on those that haven’t had the chance yet. UVCI Films, an up-and-coming company born from the juxtaposition of Indian roots and international initiatives, unites the best of both worlds when catering highly artistic content of local stories to a global audience. Its mother company, a leading film studio located in Hyderabad, India, is known for its list of blockbusters and strong presence at the Tollywood marketplace. UVCI Films, however, aims to differentiate from its mother company, by creating projects in an independent scale that are able to travel across the globe. “UVCI Films came about with the desire of internationalizing local South Asian stories; bringing it to a global spectrum. The Asian film market has been growing in the past few years and we want to be able to focus on the topic of immigration and the new generations of Asian communities out...

As the co-founder of Hillcrest Merchant Partners, Toronto’s Mark Attanasio has a bird’s-eye view of Canada’s flourishing venture capital market. Along with managing partner Donato Sferra, Attanasio nurtures early-stage and mid-market growth companies. The partners describe Hillcrest Merchant Partners as a “boutique” merchant bank that focuses on a number of industries, including mining, gaming, industrials, and technology. Their services include equity and debt structuring, reverse takeovers, M&A and the private-to-public process. We caught up with Mark Attanasio to discuss his path to success and to take a look at the world of venture capital. Can you trace your career path for us? Mark Attanasio: Well, after I graduated from the University of British Columbia, I started working at PricewaterhouseCoopers. It was incredibly helpful to get first-hand experience in audit and advisory services, while also earning my CPA. After that, I joined National Bank Fi...

For Len Wong , who has made his career in cannabis, the future is looking optimistic. As the Canadian cannabis industry continues to take off, we’re seeing a willful push away from the stigmatized days of old, towards a broad acceptance of the cannabis as an agricultural commodity. Len Wong is a greenhouse specialist with a devotion to organic growing practices. He’s also the master grower and founder of two businesses: Genetix Consulting and The Grow Depot. We recently invited Len Wong for a Q&A session to talk about how his companies are helping others, why certain growing practices are especially useful for the Canadian cannabis grower, and more. What is your background and what prompted you to focus your expertise around organic growing? Lenny Wong: Well, I’ve always been dedicated to sustainability and understanding the role that organic growing plays in the environment as well as in human health. I’ve spent the last 16 years working in the areas of g...

Mihaela Cristina Istrate is an emerging director, producer and music composer - she grew up in Florida and graduated from University of British Columbia in Theatre & Film Production. In 2010, she composed music for a documentary titled Kosovo: Can You Imagine, which won a Silver Palm Award at the Mexico International Film Festival. Her musical compositions have also been featured in over 20 theatrical shows and received high acclaim in The Vancouver Sun for Gormenghast - directed by Stephen Malloy. Her first short film "No Good Deed" was selected and screened at Overcome Film Festival on October 2017 and received a Recognition in Filmmaking Achievement. No Good Deed is also being considered for 6 film festivals in the U.S including California Indie Film Festival. Her second short film "Recon" is currently being considered in 9 festivals in the U.S including San Francisco International Film Festival.  Mihaela enjoys working on movie sets and her approac...

Render 3D Quickly is the brainchild of Jason Vander Griendt, a mechanical engineering and architectural rendering expert who is also the founder of J – CAD, Inc. Since founding Render 3D Quickly, Mr. Vander Griendt’s company has worked with clients representing varied industries, including architects, real estate brokers, contractors, builders, and homeowners, among countless others. Render 3D Quickly has also established a global presence thanks to Mr. Vander Griendt’s efforts in assembling a global team of experts capable of meeting the diverse needs of the company’s clients. How unique do you consider your 3D architectural rendering service to be? I hope you don’t mind if I respond with a simple rhetorical question: Is there any way to see a project brought to life in breathtaking detail without investing a great deal of time or money? This is what makes our visualizations so unique, as our architectural visualizations allows the client to experience what a proposed p...

Lela Stankovic is an artist & author based in Toronto, Canada. In her art, she seeks to integrate the techniques of Old Masters with the inspirations from today’s world. Lela loves to explore new elements in her Oil & Watercolor paintings, and her paintings and drawings reflect the joy to be had in simple things all around us. In her new book, " Painting Glorious Rose Flowers in Watercolor – in 7 Stages ", Lela shares the techniques which make her watercolor paintings glow with light. We have conducted an interview with her. What do you seeks to integrate the techniques of Old Masters with? The Old Masters excelled in capturing form, space and time in their masterpieces. I have been on a quest to discovering their secrets and applying them to my own painting subjects. The subjects I choose are really timeless - people, flowers and still life. What inspires you to the founding of the online 'Paint and Draw Community'? I find it frustrating that...

DDMLighting Designs, Delivers and Manages the installation high-quality lighting systems for commercial and residential projects in Toronto, Canada. Founded in June 2011, DDMLighting combines 30 years of expertise and experience. Their mission is to provide great lighting and excellent customer experience in the Design, Deliver and Management phases of each project - no matter how small. We have conducted an interview with them. Why is it important for lighting system to be well plan, well executed and implemented? Electricians are good at pulling wire and installing lighting fixtures safely and to code, architects are typically excellent at designing structures, and interior designers are amazing at pulling together materials and aesthetics to deliver an overall look...but, none of them have the time to stay on top to the constantly changing world of lighting. This is especially true now, as LEDs are growing in the depth and breadth of use in both residential and commerci...