Barry Kopulos, president of non-profit group Mammoth Alliance Film Industry Association (M.A.F.I.A), moved to Winnipeg 25 years ago from a farming town in Alberta. In the 90’s, he had the opportunity to write, host and produce a community TV show on VPW 11 called In Search of Friends. After its run, he started a second show called All About Computers. It was both live and taped and would run for several years. When the show was axed, the story caught the eye of CBC Winnipeg and was so intriguing that it aired on national news.

While at a trade show in the late 90’s, Barry was approached by the owner of a computer store and was asked if he could create a radio show to air weekly on 1290 Talk Radio for one year. His responsibilities were to write, produce and host the show every week and to book guests from the computer industry to discuss a wide range of topics.

In 1999 Barry was appointed marketing director for Townhouse 9’s Beautiful Lake Winnipeg play. He printed posters, programs and sent press releases to radio/TV stations. In 2002, the acting bug caught him and Barry founded M.A.F.I.A. In the 8 years they have been operating, they have held many workshops that teach others about how to get into the film business as an extra, actor or crew.

M.A.F.I.A. is active member of On Screen Manitoba, Winnipeg Film Group and New Media Manitoba and networks well with others. Barry works as a background performer/actor in many TV shows and feature films as well as on film crews.

The M.A.F.I.A. web site www.mafiamedia.org has great resources on film topics.