Twenty-four-year-old Aman Bassi, a Surrey born and bred girl, is doing it all in the world of cinema – producing, directing, director of photography (DOP) and even singing, recently releasing a break-out R&B infused hip-hop track called VIBE.

By DESIBUZZCanada Staff

SURREY – The world of showbiz is a big draw for many young Canadians who want to be actors, directors, producers, singers and film technicians but the road is littered with has-beens and wanna-bes and failed artists.

But a young South Asian woman from Surrey is showing the world how it is done with hard work and persistence of vision and spirit.

Twenty-four-year-old Aman Bassi, a Surrey born and bred girl, is doing it all in the world of cinema – producing, directing, director of photography (DOP) and even singing, recently releasing a break-out rap track called VIBE.

Bassi is a doer and her already wide resume of Hollywood and Pollywood (Punjabi films) productions include being  part of popular Netflix productions like ‘Sabrina,’ ‘Firefly Lane’, ‘Stranger Things’, ‘6 Underground’, ‘Sacred Games’, Red Notice (in production)’ and ‘Riverdale (ongoing).

She is also a filmmaker with numerous awards and accolades to her name, including ‘Best of Show’ and ‘Best DOP’ at Whistler Film Festival along with a nomination as ‘Best New Director’ by PTC.

Glued to the camera since an early age, she is now a fast moving film professional with credits on Directors Guild film projects including ‘Ghosting’, ‘When the Lights go out’, ‘Descendents 2’, ‘The Mighty Ducks’, and ”Bates Motel.’ 

Her feature film work includes credits on major titles such as Quentin Tarantino’s Oscar-winning ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’, ‘Hobbes and Shaw’, ‘Deadpool 2’, ‘Jumanji 2,’ and some iconic Punjabi Films including ‘Manje Bistre 2’, ‘Ardaas Karaan, ‘PR’ and the indie film ‘Monster.’

Bassi attended high school in Surrey at LA Matheson and Princess Margaret before graduating from the Art Institute in 2015. Starting her career in the film industry working as a production assistant when she was all of 16, she eventually worked her way up to being an Executive Producer on films and television productions by Vancouver production houses.

Bassi said she faced obstacles in proving her might and ability to others and being young and female didn’t make it any easier. But her grandmother’s words always motivated her to do her best. “You should do anything and everything you want to in life,” she would say.

“The last couple of years in this field has given me a whole lot of perspective into how I want to channelize my life. When I started I didn’t think of it as a career option but now when I am at it, I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Bassi said. 

“Never think you cannot do something or give up without trying. Hard days will come but they will go by. We all need to just keep a clear head and continue believing in ourselves.”

Already knee deep in the world of films, Bassi got the itch to let her music-vibe get the best of her and she put her own music and music videos including ‘Chaali Jaan de’ and R&B infused hip-hop number ‘Vibe’, which has turned out to be one of the most trending songs on Spotify. This is on top of the production work she has done for popular music videos, including, Guru Randhawa’s ‘High Rated Gabru’, ‘Issa Jatt’, ‘Too Hot’, ‘Pagal’, ‘Baby Baby’, ‘Jatta Ve’, ‘Circles’, ‘Closer’ amongst others.

Bassi said her favourite projects so far include ‘Manje Bistre 2’ because it was shot in Canada and showcased an Indian setting. The entire crew worked together like a family, she says. 

Her most challenging project was ‘Hobbes & Shaw’ because it had lots of stunts and with the multicultural crew and language issues which made it way more challenging than any other projects she’s worked on.

“I have too many dreams for myself but I really want to direct my own feature film and I’m already working on that,” Bassi said about her future plans.

“In addition to that, I am working on a new album. This film and album is my way of sharing my story with the world and I’m extremely thrilled to do that. It’s a dream for me to win some of the prominent accolades this industry offers,” she said.

Instagram: https://instagram.com/amanbassiofficial?igshid=15biw04m5tp08