Geoff Macnaughton has been appointed TIFF’s director of industry. Macnaughton will oversee the organization’s industry programming and talent development initiatives, as well as industry-related sales and services. He will continue to act as lead programmer of Primetime, the Toronto International Film Festival’s program highlighting the best in international television series.
Macnaughton has been with the organization for 12 years, as a sr. manager on both the industry and festival programming teams. His balance of artistic vision and business acumen has allowed him to build strong and strategic relationships with partners, including distributors, sales agents, producers, and promotional agencies, both local and international.
“Geoff worked his way up on TIFF’s Industry team, winning the trust of buyers, sellers and creators as he helped grow our reach and impact every year,” said Cameron Bailey, artistic director and co-head of TIFF. “He brings a wealth of experience to his new position as director of industry, and recently adding Festival programming to his portfolio has expanded his expertise and network.”
“I am extremely excited for this opportunity to help shape what TIFF offers to the local and international industry,” said Macnaughton. “The film and television landscape is constantly changing, and it’s important for us to be mindful of these developments in order to provide meaningful business, talent development, and networking opportunities for all.”
Macnaughton will begin his new post immediately, reporting to Bailey, and will work closely with the Festival programming team on transition plans.
Juliette Welfling Takes On A Musical, A Crime Thriller, Comedy and Drama In “Emelia Pérez”
Editor Juliette Welfling has a track record of close-knit, heartfelt collaboration with writer-director Jacques Audiard, a four-time BAFTA Award nominee for Best Film not in the English Language--starting with The Beat That My Heart Skipped in 2006, then A Prophet in 2010, Rust and Bone in 2013, and Dheepan in 2017. He won for The Beat That My Heart Skipped and A Prophet.
Welfling cut three of those features: A Prophet, Rust and Bone, and Dheepan. And that shared filmography has since grown to most recently include Emelia Pérez, the Oscar buzz-worthy film from Netflix. Welfling herself is not stranger to Academy Award banter. In fact, she earned a Best Achievement in Film Editing Oscar nomination in 2008 for director Julian Schnabel’s The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.
Emelia Pérez is a hybrid musical/drama/thriller which introduces us to a talented but undervalued lawyer named Rita (portrayed by Zoe Saldana) who receives a lucrative offer out of the blue from a feared drug cartel boss who’s looking to retire from his sordid business and disappear forever by becoming the woman he’s always dreamt of being (Karla Sofía Gascón in a dual role as Manitas Del Monte/Emilia Pérez). Rita helps pull this off, orchestrating the faked death of Del Monte who leaves behind a widow (Jessi, played by Selena Gomez) and kids. While living comfortably and contently in her/their new identity, Pérez misses the children. Pérez once again enlists Rita--this time to return to family life, reuniting with the kids by pretending to be their aunt, the sister of Del Monte. Now as an aunt, Pérez winds up adopting a more altruistic bent professionally,... Read More