From Film Set Flirtations to Valentine’s Day Vows | Reeth Mazumder & Austin Roberts’ TFS Love Story

Love will most definitely be in the air this Valentine’s Day for Toronto Film School graduates Reeth Mazumder and Austin Roberts.

The couple, who met on a TFS film set three years ago, will be exchanging their wedding vows during a “mystical forest” themed ceremony that will be live-streamed internationally from their Toronto apartment on Feb. 14.

“Lot of plants, lots of light and a lot of love – that’s our wedding,” beamed Mazumder, noting that she always dreamed of a Valentine’s Day wedding.

“I’m very much a person who believes in fairy tales and love stories and love, so I’m very, very happy that we are going to start this journey together.”

For Mazumder and Roberts, theirs was a journey that began back in 2018, when she was still a Writing for Film & Television student and he had just recently graduated from the Film Production program.

Both were involved in a short film shoot being produced by some fellow TFS students and alumni – Mazumder as an actor, Roberts as the First AD (assistant director) on the project. On the day they met, Mazumder got lost on the way to her first day on set, and her future fiancé went to pick her up – a story Roberts recounted during his Christmas Day proposal.

“From the moment I saw you come off the subway when we were doing that little short film…I knew that I wanted to talk to you and I needed to meet you and know who you were,” the native New Brunswicker recounted from bended knee.

While Roberts admitted to being so “starstruck” by the Bollywood actress that he couldn’t muster the courage to ask her out, Mazumder wasn’t quite as shy.

“I can say there was definitely an instant attraction,” she laughed, noting that her feelings only grew the more the pair collaborated on film projects – including You May Kiss the Bride, which garnered three nominations at TFS’s 2019 Festival of Films and won Mazumder a Women Filmmakers Award of Recognition from the Accolade Global Film Competition.

“The way Austin handles the set (as first assistant director), I really like the way he takes command and takes charge. That was something that impressed me.”

While neither enrolled at Toronto Film School with the expectation of finding their soul mate, both admit that their connection was only strengthened by their shared passion for filmmaking.

“I wasn’t expecting to find love, necessarily…but I hoped for some friendships that would last and would be meaningful,” said Roberts, who hosts a podcast called Did Somebody Say Movies? and recently started up a production company called Paper Padlock Productions.

“With Reeth, I found someone who has a very different way of thinking about films, which, for someone who loves to review films and loves to talk about films, is so interesting.”

Three years of happy binge-watching and collaborating later, the couple is now planning the first of what will ultimately be three weddings – a COVID-style civil ceremony attended by just a few close friends in person, but broadcast to more than 50 family members and loved ones in India, the UK and New Brunswick via Zoom.

To help them prepare for the big day, the couple has enlisted the help of fellow TFS graduate Yuliya Kornienko – Mazumder’s maid of honour – to build an eight-foot, mystical forest themed backdrop to their Valentine’s Day vows.

“We’ve collected branches from outside, and lights and plants, and it’s going to look beautiful,” she said. “I’ve always wanted to get married under the open sky.”

Once COVID travel restrictions are lifted, the couple is then planning a “proper two-day celebration” that will combine both their cultures – a North American white wedding one day, followed by a traditional Indian one the next.

“I keep telling Austin, ‘We’re so lucky – we’re getting married to each other three times,’” Mazumder laughed, noting that the couple will not only be exchanging vows, but also last names – she’ll be Reeth Mazumder-Roberts and he’ll be Austin Roberts-Mazumder.

“When he told me he’d be taking my name, too, he stole my heart again. We’re looking forward to a life with lots of love and happiness together.”