Canadian filmmaker and producer Ryan McCormick is having a career-defining moment. With multiple awards stacking up across international festivals, from New York to Kolkata, McCormick’s name has become synonymous with boundary-pushing cinema that connects cultures — particularly between Canada and India. It is this extraordinary blend of global vision and intimate storytelling that has led to his recent feature in Outlook India.
In 2025, McCormick’s film The Dark Following: Fragments of the Past made a clean sweep through the global festival circuit. Partnering with London-based director Toby Rawal, whose family hails from Rajkot in Gujarat, McCormick built a story that threads the eerie and emotional in ways that resonate far beyond genre. The film’s selection at the New York Tri-State International Film Festival marked a significant early milestone — recognition from an institution dedicated to championing low-budget, impactful independent cinema. From there, it went on to win Best Zero Budget Feature at the Sci-Fi Horror & Action Film Festival, a major IMDb-qualifying event where McCormick’s creative team was praised for achieving cinematic sophistication on limited resources.
By the time The Dark Following reached Indian audiences, McCormick’s cross-cultural success was undeniable. At Kolkata’s Beyond Border International Film Festival, one of India’s leading emerging showcases of international creativity, the film won Best Debut Filmmaker and was a finalist for Best Science Fiction Film — a double triumph that symbolized more than just artistic recognition. It reflected McCormick’s genuine engagement with India’s creative communities. Shortly afterward, the UNESCO-recognized Sundarban International Film Festival honored the film as Best Amateur Feature, adding another prestigious laurel to his growing list. In an era when Indian-rooted diaspora voices continue to shape global art, McCormick’s partnership with Rawal — who proudly embraces his Gujarati heritage — feels like a celebration of India’s creative DNA finding new expression abroad.
These successes, combined with a surge of over 83,000 YouTube views and the film’s streaming debut on Amazon Prime, have turned The Dark Following: Fragments of the Past into a quiet phenomenon. Yet McCormick’s portfolio reaches even further. His comedic short Bench Goof, directed by Indo-American Ajit Dandekar, proved his range as a producer. The film picked up the Best One Minute Film award at the New York International Cult Film Festival and screened at the lively New Jersey Comedy Film Festival — two events celebrated for spotlighting innovation in short-form storytelling.
Adding to this momentum, McCormick’s web series Outpatients attained multiple accolades throughout the 2025 season, being honored at the White Rose International Film Festival and WRPN.TV Global Webisode Competition, among others. Featuring top artists with backgrounds from Chennai to Montreal, the series underscores McCormick’s dedication to international collaboration. His short film Monk also earned festival attention, strengthening his reputation for giving non-mainstream stories global platforms.
For Ryan McCormick, awards are not the end goal — they’re milestones in a larger mission: to connect the world through storytelling. “Cinema,” he says, “is the most universal language we have. When we tell stories together, we’re building bridges — not just between countries, but between hearts.”
It’s no wonder Outlook India sought him out at this moment. McCormick isn’t just collecting trophies; he’s redefining what it means to make independent cinema across borders. From Canada’s indie scene to India’s vibrant festival circuit, his work stands as living proof that creativity thrives where cultures meet.
