Alumni Spotlight: Bavand Karim

Bavand Karim (M.F.A. ’10) is this week’s featured alum in our new Alumni Spotlight series for the This Week at Meadows e-newsletter. Each week, a different Meadows alum will be highlighted for their accomplishments post-graduation.

At Meadows, it’s not only the hands-on programs and theoretical knowledge gained that helps our alumni achieve their career goals, oftentimes networking also comes into play. For Film & Media Arts alum Bavand Karim, the combination of mentors, experience, and determination laid the foundation for his professional journey in the entertainment industry.

“Meadows influenced my career in two significant ways,” Karim says of his time in the school’s film program. “The department chair, a seasoned production executive and documentarian, offered me critical writing and producing roles on her films, which gave me the initial learning experience and confidence necessary to become an independent filmmaker. After graduation I was offered an entry-level position as an assistant by one of our program's alumni, which led to my first roles on major motion pictures.”

Though Karim’s first films were documentaries produced under the banner of Be Positive Pictures, he eventually expanded into narrative and commercial production in the late 2000s and created a new company called Lost Winds Entertainment. By 2017 Karim had worked in films, TV, advertising, and even virtual productions, with a network that included people at Showtime, Starz, Procter & Gamble, Coca-Cola and more, so he leveraged his experience and contacts to form an entertainment consultancy called CINE. The company specializes in the financing, development, and production of feature films and television programs through a think tank of diverse executives, creatives, and educators spread across the globe. 

“We are producing a slate of diverse and unique original films written and directed by a group of talented auteurs,” says Karim of CINE’s mission. “Our vision is to blend compelling international and intercultural stories with European financing and Hollywood talent.”

Karim poses on the red carpet at an event at the South by Southwest festival.

This focus on international and intercultural stories led Karim to the Festival de Cannes' Marche du Film this year where CINE host the We Cannes Collaborative, an exclusive event to celebrate the company’s $15 million financing partnership with the European NGO We Belong. Though his day-to-day role with the company varies, with duties ranging from financing to creative development, Karim is also involved in education.

“My career is unique in that it is split between creative entrepreneurship and academia,” explains Karim, who has been determined to balance both endeavors. “Hollywood and academia both tend to draw people with diverse interests and dynamic personalities, but there are few creative careers as rewarding as teaching.”

This rewarding endeavor began in 2011, with Karim managing the Northern Kentucky University in Cincinnati’s TV station and teaching production courses for their Electronic Media and Broadcasting program. He also previously directed the studio TV production program at Emerson College and produced a television series for WGBH. He is currently the film program director for Media Entertainment Arts at College of the Canyons in Santa Clarita, just north of Los Angeles.

From formative filmmaking experiences – in the advanced narrative production course and the Summer Feature Film Production – to the networking opportunities, Karim has made the most of his Meadows experience and built a career that not only drives the entertainment industry forward but also influences future filmmakers through his educational involvement.