New Beginnings

My husband, Tej, and I, have happily welcomed our own young master (well, tiny master, really),

Jodh Chand Singh Gill.

Proving to me that he is already a master of his own life, destiny and timing, he arrived after 44 hours of labour at 4 am on May 5th.

His birth is a parallel with the birth of my film, and I believe this is no coincidence. I was inspired to tell the story of Young Masters only because I had a deep "look at yourself in the mirror" experience when I started working for WorldSkills. By attending skill competitions, and by working at SAIT, my eyes opened to the endless career possibilities and life options available for young people. Before this, I was very limited in my beliefs of what constituted a 'real' career, and often looked down on any job that took place outside of an office or without a business suit.

Talk about irony, because within months of working for WorldSkills, I traded in my business suit and office job to become a filmmaker. Being an artist in our society is about the lowest rung of the career totem pole that one can get...and I don't care! So making the Young Masters documentary has not only changed my life, but I believe will also make me a much better parent for little Jodh. Tej and I are so committed to allowing him to develop his own sense of self, and to pursue whatever it is that he loves.

"We don't all have the courage to confront our own dream.  Why? We are told from

childhood onward that everything we want to do is impossible.  We grow up with this

idea, and as the years accumulate, so too do the layers of prejudice, fear, and

guilt.  There comes a time when our personal calling is so deeply buried in our soul

as to be invisible." - Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist (Introduction)