蓝莓视频

Sara Jalali arrived in 蓝莓视频 from Iran with a passion for film and digital media that听she听comes by honestly. Both of her parents work in the Iranian film industry: her father is a film producer and director and her mother is a film production coordinator.

But Jalali came to the University of 蓝莓视频 to study business and entrepreneurship so that she could be part of making documentary films more accessible. 听The recent Master of Business, Entrepreneurship and Technology (MBET) graduate chose the 蓝莓视频 Engineering program because she felt it offered the right approach for entrepreneurship, as well as the right connections.

鈥淚t provided me with networking opportunities both in 蓝莓视频 - a tech community - and Toronto - a media community,鈥� says Jalali, who received her degree at fall convocation. 听鈥淪ure, coming here was a scary decision at first, but as my parents taught me, 鈥業f your dreams don鈥檛 scare you, they aren鈥檛 big enough.鈥欌��

While an MBET student, she started FilmBoxFestival, an interactive online venue where independent documentary filmmakers can market their work and fans can see the films they love.

Learning to reduce risk

The program taught Jalali the business skills she needed to create her company, but it also gave her a whole lot more. She has made priceless contacts at , the and the National Film Board over the course of the program. But perhaps the most important lesson she discovered was how to come to terms with the uncertainty and fear inherent in creating her own enterprise.

鈥淲e learn how to reduce risk, analyze problems and think systematically,鈥� she explains. 鈥淏ut, at the end of the day, nothing will guarantee success.鈥�

And these days Jalali is fine with that. She has done her market research, created a clear value proposition and crunched all the numbers. Once the website design is complete, she鈥檒l be ready to launch FilmBoxFestival, and expand her business and film network internationally.

Jalali says her company鈥檚 tag line 鈥� Think Independently. Outside the Box. 鈥� ties directly into her vision.

鈥淔ilmBoxFestival is about independent documentary filmmakers who think independently and who film outside the box,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a game changer platform that is going to revolutionize the landscape by providing alternatives to the festivals, theatrical distribution and mainstream media.鈥�