Ivan Patrick Tai-Apin (23th of February 1977) is a Surinamese - Dutch actor, director, screenplay writer and producer.

At age 7 he became Suriname's national champion in swimming with the swimming club Neptunes and at age 18 his basketball team SCVU won the national youth championship in Suriname.  Ivan is now twenty four years in the entertainment industry and is mostly known for his out of the box theater shows & plays. In 2016 he started a camera acting school in Suriname and is the managing director of It Goes Productions &  It Goes Casting. 

In 2018 he wrote (screenplay), directed and Co-produced his debute feature film Wiren, which was selected for the prestigious Netherlands Film Festival (NFF) and DBUFF Film festival in Amsterdam. After its theatrical release in Holland in 2020, it became the first Surinamese film on Netflix, iTunes and Amazon prime.

In November 2020 Wiren was the first movie from Suriname that got Submitted by the Suriname Selection Committee for the 93rd Oscars in the International feature film category and got approved by the Academy of Motion pictures, Arts & Science. In 2020 Wiren got selected for the Golden Calve Award Competition in Holland and was also screened at the World Expo 2020 in Dubai and the IDB Bank in Washington DC. In decembre 2019 Wiren was released in commercial cinemas in the Netherlands.

In April 2024, Wiren became the opening film at the International Film Festival of Ancient Splendor (IFFAS) in Ujjain Pradesh, India. In September 2024, Wiren was screened as the closing Film at El Cine Brasilia at the 7th Grulac Nations Film Festival in Brasilia, Brasil. The Grulac film festival is an international film festival in which films from South America, Central America and the Caribbean are selected by their own governments. In December of 2024 Wiren was selected  for the prestigious 17th Global Filmfestival in Noida, India and received an Award of Distinction. In August 2025 Wiren was selected for Carifesta XV (Caribbean festival of arts) and was screened two times at the University of the West Indies (UWI) and the Golden square , Freedom Park in Barbados.

In 2021 Ivan became the head live-entertainment of Suriname at the World Expo 2020 in Dubai and received an Award from the Surinamese Government for his outstanding accomplishments. Ivan Tai-Apin is now based in Europe, he gives guidance, courses to people who are new in the international entertainment market. He is also searching for the truth with Jehovah.

Creating new concepts for the changing market; writing, directing and producing feature films. One of his latest project is the controversial story Gouverneur de Goijer. In 2022 this project was selected for the Holland Film Meetings organised by the prestigous Dutch Film Festival (NFF). This project is his new feature 50% AI - Film which is in Pre- Production.

Directing musical theatre shows and location theatre with small and big cast. In 2016 he directed the musical play "Ode aan het Doe Theater' in Suriname from the legendary Henk Tjon and Thea Doelwijt, produced by Stas International. He worked with an experienced young cast,rehearsed for four months in the context of the anniversary of the Folk Music School.

Giving courses in camera acting, theatre acting, producing and screenplay writing worldwide and online. With his twenty five year experience in the entertainment business as an acting coach Ivan is able to make a star out of every humanbeing.  He strongly believes that with the right mentorship and tools people are able to accomplish the impossible.

' Every individual has a unique strength "

In 2015 he had a role as a commander in militairy in the award winning short movie Akiki, which was directed by Mike Reeder and Produced by Forward Motion. This project and competition was organised, managed and developed by I-Write the movies, a Surinamese short movie competition produced by Bijlhout media. Ivan Tai-Apin also worked as an actingcoach on Akiki.

Being in the international entertainment industry Ivan regularly gives interviews on different entertainment subjects and projects and is invited as a motivational speaker, entertainment influencer and film director. At the World Expo in Dubai 2020 Ivan was interviewed by Expo Tv and was a guest speaker at the congress of dignified storytelling.