Master Of The House, the narrative debut from award-winning commercial director Dylan Maranda, will have its world premiere at the Vancouver International Film Festival on Friday, September 29th at 8:30 pm at Vancity Theatre.

The film, shot at the Michelin Star restaurant Kissa Tanto in Vancouver, follows a young sommelier, played by Brendan Meyer (The OA), who struggles to balance friendship and ambition the night an acclaimed critic dines at his workplace “Reclamation”— a restaurant hyped on reinventing Indigenous cuisine. The short film sees the return of Edmonton actor Brendan Meyer to Vancouver, where he rose to fame with his starring role on YTV and DisneyXD’s acclaimed series Mr. Young, all 80 episodes of the series shot in Burnaby, BC.

Writer/Director Dylan Maranda, was introduced to Kissa Tanto head chef Joël Watanabe when he directed him in a Uniqlo commercial, but it was his chef father and growing up in kitchens that inspired the heat, chaos and intensity of Master of the House. Maranda, an award-winning director in the commercial space, grew up in Vancouver in the vibrant restaurant scene, his father was the chef and co-founder at Calhoun’s, a popular eatery on Vancouver’s west side. He may not have followed a restaurateur path, but Master of the House is the marrying of his worlds. Maranda was one of the youngest Canadian commercial directors to be signed for commercial representation and his breakthrough piece; a PSA for the Canadian Centre of Child Protection was a Bronze Lion winner at the Cannes Lions festival in 2022. Last year he was a finalist for Young Guns, an international award for creative professionals previously won by the likes of The Daniels. He was recently signed to commercial representation in the US by WildGift content and his upcoming projects include an anti-bullying PSA with Monica Lewinsky, a global campaign for Redwing Boots, and his debut feature film Bite Down.

“Growing up across the street from the Ridge Theatre in Vancouver, some of my earliest memories are of the spotlights from the opening VIFF gala shining through my bedroom window as a child. For this to all come full circle and have our film be a part of such a special festival like VIFF is an immense privilege. This project was made so much better by every single person who contributed their time and talent to its creation — it means so much to have our premiere be in front of all of them, and share it with the city that I will always call home,” says Maranda.

Watch the official trailer for Master of The House.