Growing up in North York, Ontario, Desh 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 Bravo! Television 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. Nacando Productions made its public debut in April 2008
with Surfacing, a site-specific dance film screened at the National Film Board of Canada and in
the Vue Sur La Relève Festival . Surfacing went on to tour in the national festival circuit, and
then was purchased by MOVIEOLA in 2009.
Over the past three years, Desh has developed a series of shorts films titled: Dances For Small
Spaces, in collaboration with internationally renowned choreographer and longtime colleague,
Michael Montanaro. Funded by Cirque du Soleil, and BravoFACT the Dances For Small Spaces
series has been screened in festival circuits in Europe, South America and North America. Desh
is now on the verge of creating the forth film in the series titled 411, which will capture five
performers inside the intimate confines of a 1950’s style telephone booth. As well, in Montreal,
Desh has been involved in movement and sensor based technology research with Dr. Sha Xin
Wei at the Topological Media Lab in Montreal.
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. Having unearthed a
passion for directing music videos, Desh recently teamed up with singer/song writer Sara
Giguere. And will soon shoot her new single: WHO NEEDS A ROMEO.
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.