Growing up on the small island of Malta, Charles Falzon (RTA ’79) was a producer and a team builder before he knew what that meant, getting his local choir on the radio and a production of Hamlet on the stage. He was 15 when his family immigrated to Canada. A few years later, he landed at TMU.
“It was the ’70s, a time of optimism. The university made us feel as though we could make things happen and we did,” says Falzon, whose classmates included award-winning author Louise Penny, now renowned television producer Arthur Smith, and many other creative pioneers. Falzon would go on to build an award-winning global career, launching and leading companies in media production and distribution, book publishing, theme parks and live entertainment.
In 2010, Falzon returned to RTA School of Media as a professor to share his knowledge with a new generation of students. He also wanted to help push the creative industry forward. Now, as he completes his latest term as dean of The Creative School at TMU, he reflects on his career and legacy.
“At RTA, I realized it’s okay to dream big, to move things forward."
Key lesson from his time as an RTA student
“At RTA, I realized it’s okay to dream big, to move things forward,” says Falzon. “It was an era when things were changing.”
It was at RTA that Falzon started thinking about making the world his market—a theme that would guide his career. As a student he helped organize the faculty’s first trip outside Canada, taking RTA students on a bus to New York. In his final year, he developed a plan for an ambitious global media organization. He called it United Producers and it became the template for everything he went on to do with his businesses.
Pivotal career moments
After graduation, Falzon took his first foray into global distribution at CBC, selling shows to South America, Australia and Cuba. “I spent 10 days with the censor office in Havana to make sure there were no anti-communist references in old Beachcombers and King of Kensington episodes.”
A few years in New York became Falzon’s equivalent to an MBA. There, he worked on projects like TV show Three’s Company, and represented London’s Thames Television. Seven years after graduating, Falzon and fellow RTA classmate Gary Howsman launched Producers Group International, one of Canada’s first international distributors. PGI produced numerous television series and represented over 100 producers including broadcasters such as TVOntario, CTV and CityTV.
Next, Falzon launched Catalyst Entertainment, an independent production, distribution and animation company. He eventually merged Catalyst with another company, which was ultimately bought by Gullane Entertainment, the U.K. company that owned Thomas the Tank Engine. Falzon became president of Gullane. Falzon and his companies received numerous awards including Geminis, a Canadian Screen Award and International Emmys.
“The next frontier for me was pushing the envelope of creative education,” he says.
How The Creative School and its students are shaping the future
“The future of creative education is The Creative School—that’s our mission.”
One of Falzon’s first initiatives as a faculty member was RTA in L.A. “We wanted to demystify L.A. and debunk the myth that if you’re not in L.A., you won’t make it in film and TV,” he says. Today, The Creative School has a presence in Italy, London, Dubai, and soon New York. The school also pioneered a virtual Global Campus Studio to collaborate internationally.
The faculty introduced a transdisciplinary approach to research, experiential learning and collaboration. This is an approach other universities are now emulating. “Our students are working in two ecosystems, their field and the creative sector, and they are becoming stronger for it.”
On his legacy
“I hope that we broke the mould, that students don’t take no or stop just because something is unknown. The climax for me was when we changed the name of the faculty to The Creative School. Creativity is about all of it: entrepreneurship, pushing the envelope, taking risks. It has been an honour to help shape that with our kickass team of passionate visionaries. They will take it to the next level.”
As for what’s next for Falzon? “I have a few creative projects lined up and I will still teach. I will mentor students and those who are graduating, people who are creating their own United Producers.”
