Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) top brass have expanded the remit of artistic director Cameron Bailey, appointing him to the newly created post of artistic director and co-head.
Bailey, an urbane and widely admired cinephile who has served in the role of artistic director since 2012, will report directly to the board of directors effective October 1 and work alongside the TIFF managing director and co-head.
The latter role is yet to be filled. The board, which is working with Caldwell Partners on a global search for the right candidate, decided on the two-headed structure after CEO Piers Handling announced in 2017 that he would step down at the end of this year’s edition.
The board expects to make an announcement before the festival later this year, which runs from September 6-16.
“With a five year strategic plan for TIFF launched this year, and more changes on the horizon for our industry, we believe a two-headed structure is right for the future success of TIFF,” Jennifer Tory said.
“Cameron is a film industry veteran who has earned a reputation for discerning, expansive curation since joining TIFF as a programmer in 1990. Combined with his accomplishments as TIFF’s artistic director, we have full confidence in his vision for the direction of the organisation.
“Piers has done a remarkable job during his tenure as director and CEO and Artistic Director before that. We are indebted to him for the vision and strategy - and the elegance he brought to the role.”
“I have tremendous respect for Cameron and his longstanding contribution to TIFF’s success,” Handling added. “His passion and vision for the future of the organisation underlines his deep leadership skills. It gives me great comfort to know TIFF is in such good hands.”
“I’ve been fortunate to work alongside Piers for so many years,” Bailey said. “We programmed Canadian films together, we made our first programming trip to Burkina Faso together and we’ve spent countless hours working out how best to engage audiences with the power of film. I am honoured to be entrusted with guiding the future of TIFF.”
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