Growing up in North York, Ontario, Desh Fernando discovered at a very early age that a life in film and video is what he wanted to pursue.
Born in Sri Lanka, he journeyed to Canada at age five. At age ten, Desh stole the family camcorder to shoot his first documentary. Armed with only his father’s VHS decks and cramped in the living room of his family’s North York apartment, Desh sat for hours developing a fascination for creating narratives with the simple use of an edit.
Over time, he became addicted to crafting videos that captured his imaginative vision of reality and learned the thrill of shooting the human experience. Realizing that his passion for film ran deep, Desh decided to make his obsession into a career. In 2001, he enrolled at Concordia University’s Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema where he created his first televised film, Lola & Me, which integrated theater, dance, painting, and original music. Given the green light by bravoFACT and the National Film Board of Canada, Lola & Me premiered in June 2004 and received the Istvan Kantor Award for Innovation.
Following graduation, Desh co-founded a dance film production company, Nacando Productions with choreographer Teoma Naccarato.
Desh currently lives in Toronto where he works as a senior editor and camera operator.
At Corus Entertainment, Desh has filmed legendary bands such as The Barenaked Ladies,Great Big Sea, Lady Antebellum, Johhny Reid, Blue Rodeo and Gord Downie. In all of his work, Desh is interested in further exploring his favorite pastime, integrating video technology with other elements of multi-media, making the human experience more tangible and accessible to a diverse audience.
His other bravoFACT credits include Dances for Small Spaces – Ame, and Dances for Small Spaces – 411.