Piers Handling has been associated with the Canadian film industry as a leading programmer and published author of extensive works on Canadian film since the early ’70s. Handling worked for the Canadian Film Institute for a decade, reaching the position of deputy director there.

He has been with the Toronto International Film Festival since 1982, beginning as a programmer, subsequently moving to deputy director in 1987 and then artistic director in 1993. With Helga Stephenson’s departure as executive director, Handling will become director of the Festival and the Cinematheque as of March 31.

Here, he talks to Playback about his new responsibilities.

Playback: This is something you’ve been expecting for awhile. Now that it’s here, how do you feel?

Handling: It’s a big challenge and I’m really excited. I’m inheriting an organization that’s so well-run and so well-designed, and that now has so many functions, that this feels like the pinnacle of my work. A lot of what I was leaning towards in my career has come to fruition in this job.

Playback: What are you most excited about?

Handling: The new challenge, because I’ve had essentially the same function for the last seven years. I’ll get to learn more about the administrative, corporate and marketing sides. I’m still going to keep my hand in programming because that’s my strength. There are other ideas I have (in programming) that I still want to develop.

Playback: Dealing with the corporate side is going to be a new experience for you, isn’t it?

Handling: The reason for bringing Suzanne (Weiss) on side (as managing director) is to largely cover a number of functions that Helga did. Suzanne has a strong background in corporate, and she knows the business community, and that will help.

Playback: The galas, which were largely Helga’s responsibility, will become your charge, won’t they?

Handling: Sure, I will move more into the gala programming because that’s the high-profile end of the Festival. But I have always been involved in the gala programming. The first three years (1987-90), Helga and I made the trips to Los Angeles together. We only started to split those functions when we decided to have a little more emphasis on Europe, and it made most sense for me to focus on Europe.

Playback: Have you any new strategies in mind?

Handling: What has to be stressed here is the whole notion of continuity. There is no radical change in focus because this is a very successful organization. So, my feeling is, let’s just keep building on that success. It’s just a matter of fine-tuning the machine, and we’ve done that every single year.

Playback: What needs some attention?

Handling: I think the sales office is occupying a more central position in this organization and I think it’s important that it becomes a truly integral part of the Festival.

There are areas of the Festival which can certainly be expanded – going to a single-ticket system was a phenomenal expense. It was something we rented and we have the potential to buy, and although we’re looking into it, it would be a massive expenditure. It’s a tough decision, because one can always invite more guests, one can always do more in services offered to the public.

Also, the Cinematheque has been running for five years and has done marvelous things, but at the same time there are parts of its mandate that we’re not fulfilling (namely) – publications. We don’t have the money for them and they don’t return revenue. Publications is something that is very close to me and I think there is a very important place for it in this climate. I believe it’s our job to begin to produce works, no matter how modest, on a project-by-project basis.

Playback: Let’s talk about the Cinematheque’s other functions.

Handling: Well, it is clearly fulfilling the screening side of its mandate. And we have the beginning of a collection of film prints of some value – it’s not a circulating library, yet we do use the prints for our seniors’ programming at the Science Centre. Also, as subtitled prints are getting harder and harder to find, we’d like to act as a repository for prints as they go out of circulation. It’s the beginning of our archival function, which is very expensive.

Playback: The Festival ran a minor deficit a few years ago, how are things looking now?

Handling: We don’t make money, we don’t lose money. We operate in the black.

Playback: Let’s talk about the sales office and its role in the Canadian film industry.

Handling: The sales office is really there to service the Canadian filmmakers. The buyers that are coming here function as a benefit to the Canadian film industry.

Perspective Canada is one of the keys of this festival, and for many, many filmmakers, the Festival is part of their launch plans. We’re providing a perfect context for these people to launch their films both for the international press and the international buyers.