Q&A with NYFA Alum Orlando Braun, producer of the Canadian Screen Award-nominated series "Immigrant Kitchen"

Looking into it further, I realized there are remarkably few post-secondary programs that offer a dedicated producing track. At NYFA, I had the option to do a two-year compressed master’s—one year in NYC and one in Universal City, CA—and that really appealed to me. So it was settled: I was going to attend NYFA.

NYFA Alumni Network: What projects have you worked on since graduating? Have you won any awards or been showcased in any festivals or competitions?

O.B: Since graduating from NYFA, I'm blessed to report that I’ve worked in just about every genre of film and TV—from documentaries to narrative features, from Hallmark Christmas movies to action and horror, food lifestyle series to three years of true crime producing, and even sitcoms. I'm currently working on a children's 3D animation series.

Many of these projects have gone on to play at numerous festivals and have even garnered awards. The greatest joy for me is attending a local festival where a niche film truly resonates with the audience and watching their live reactions. For example, I screened That Mennonite Joke at the Winnipeg Real to Reel Film Festival, in a community with a large Mennonite population. They laughed heartily throughout the film and overwhelmingly awarded it the festival's Audience Choice Award.

NYFA Alumni Network: Tell us more about your Immigrant Kitchen. How did you get involved in the project?

O.B: It’s always interesting to look back at how pieces fell together. I met Jorge Requena Ramos [Writer/Director of Immigrant Kitchen] in our undergrad film program at the University of Manitoba, and as friends, we’ve collaborated on a dozen films through Prairie Boy Productions, a company we jointly started. So the moral is: keep in touch with your classmates—you may collaborate on awesome projects in the future.

In 2016, I was just coming off directing my first culture/comedy documentary That Mennonite Joke and was en route to a market in France when I had an embarrassingly long layover in Toronto. On the plane, I was reading The Globe and Mail, and comedian Ali Hassan [Comedian, Actor, Chef] was on the cover of the Father’s Day edition, doing dad jokes on stage with his son. I loved the article, as it resonated tangentially with the film I had just made, and since he’s based in Toronto, I messaged him on social media inviting him for coffee. Miraculously, he responded so quickly and positively. We met for coffee, and a friendship was born. I learned that Ali was more than just a comedian—he was also a chef and an actor.

It’s now been more than eight years since that collaboration began between me, Jorge, and Ali, as we discussed our shared immigrant experiences. With so much content out there designed to divide us, we thought the time was right to do something positive that could unify us—and what better thing to bring us together than our common language of food? We wanted to celebrate our differences and come to the table around immigrant dishes that have become infused into their new communities. And so, Immigrant Kitchen was born.

NYFA Alumni Network: Did you face any challenges making the show and how did you overcome them?

O.B: There are always mountains to climb in creative projects. One of the things I actually enjoy about production are the challenges; you're always learning something new and never stagnant. We felt Immigrant Kitchen was particularly timely, relevant, and personal, so it became especially disheartening when we pitched it around to all the networks and didn't get any bites. The networks’ consensus was that it just didn’t fit with their programming priorities and/or there was already enough diversity on TV (might seem laughable, but a true story). There simply was no appetite for this kind of show.

In the meantime, I produced a 13-episode sitcom, Maria and the Mennos, for YES TV, and they asked if I had anything else. I took the opportunity to present Immigrant Kitchen, and they loved the concept. Even with a limited budget, they greenlit the pilot episode highlighting the Filipino lumpia (a deep-fried spring roll) that has become the unofficial/official dish of Winnipeg. So, with a passionate and diverse crew (95% BIPOC and/or immigrant), we shot the show, and it aired on TV and on their brand-new streaming platform.

Now, the little show that saw no love is nominated for three awards at the Canadian Screen Awards—Canada’s Academy Awards! I am so proud of my team; they really deserve all the recognition, and I hope we can continue to make much more positive content that resonates across cultures and makes your mouth water.

NYFA Alumni Network: What did you learn at NYFA that you applied directly to this project and others?

O.B: Prior to attending NYFA, I didn't have a network of people in my circle that were actively working in Film & TV.  Since I took the educational route into the film industry, this is how I gleaned experience about producing from mentors actively working in the industry. It gave me the confidence in all things related to the business of producing [from budgets, schedules, to legal], and also to the creative side of producing and collaboration with writers, directors and the other departments.

NYFA Alumni Network: Being nominated for three Canadian Screen Awards is a huge achievement! How does it feel to see Immigrant Kitchen recognized for its hard work and impact?

O.B: You know what, the award nomination seems to mean a lot to the entire cast and crew of "Immigrant Kitchen" - it feels like we've already won, just by having the recognition. To feel seen, and appreciated. This is the intent for the show, to not only be a mirror for our culture, but for each community that makes up this vibrant mosaic to feel acknowledged, valued, respected for the treasure they are.

For me, I'd love to see this show into syndication, and tell so many more stories about culture through the vehicle of culinary delights.

NYFA Alumni Network: Immigrant Kitchen features a predominantly BIPOC and immigrant crew. Why was this important for you, and how did this diverse team shape the final product?

O.B: Diversity is Canada’s superpower. Multiculturalism is a boon to our mutual success and naturally the backbone of this show concept. To embrace this diversity is vital to the authenticity of the stories and breathes life into the show. To tell a story about a community, you must always involve that community in a meaningful way—otherwise, it falls flat. (We’ve all seen large-budget productions fail simply by ignoring this basic premise.)

Peripherally, we did the same on our sitcom Maria and the Mennos, which was a mashup comedy of Filipino and Mennonite cultures—half the writers were Mennonite, the other half Filipino; same with the comedy punch-up writers and the directors, along with a diverse crew, not to mention gender parity.

NYFA Alumni Network: Are you working on any future projects? 

O.B: I am presently working with the wonderful folks at Zoot Pictures on a documentary for PBS NOVA exploring the ancient city of Angkor Wat, as well as a fun, Indigenous-led preschool animation series called Chums [we're now in Season 3], which also has a Canadian Screen Award nomination for best original song.

In collaboration with my brilliant filmmaker friends in New Zealand, Jared van Berkel and Darren Simmonds, we're developing a scripted co-production feature film called The Rescue about the incredible true story of Amy Helm, a helicopter mechanic, Search & Rescue pilot, and avid mountaineer, who finds herself and her small team stranded on a mountain in a storm.

NYFA Alumni Network congratulates Orlando on all his success!