The Rogers Industry Centre has altered its mandate and opened its programming strand for TIFF 1999 to address a wider array of filmmakers aside from producers.

A number of panels being introduced this year will focus on new audiences including film composers, writers, and directors, says Kelley Alexander, director of the Rogers Industry Centre.

In order to take advantage of those in town for the duration of the festival, the Centre is introducing extended symposium programming which will be highly concentrated on the first two days and then continue throughout the entire festival.

Kicking things off Monday Sept. 13, 8:30 a.m. at The Four Seasons Hotel is a slight spin on the keynote address. Bruce Davey, president of Icon Productions, producer of An Ideal Husband, Braveheart and the festival’s opening night film, Felicia’s Journey, talks to interviewer Brian Linehan about creativity vs. commerce.

Key for everyone in the industry from moviemakers to distributors, is a panel on the opportunities of digital distribution and what impact it will have on the way films are made and distributed. Patrick Vien, coo and president of North American Television, will moderate ‘In Perpetuity, Distribution in the Digital World’, 10:30 a.m. at The Four Seasons and take a look at the impact of digital on all aspects of the biz.

‘They Shoot We Score: Anatomy of a Composer’s Agreement’ features a discussion examining the issues of composer recording agreements for film and tv lead by Paul Hoffert from the Guild of Canadian Film Composers. The symposium starts at 12:15 p.m., also at The Four Seasons.

At 3:00 p.m., host of Future World and Hot Type, Evan Solomon will moderate ‘Net Works!’, a panel exploring the effects of new media on the film industry and how the Internet has successfully promoted and marketed movies.

Day Two gets going at 9:00 a.m. with ‘Be Savvy Baby! How To Make The Media Work For You’, moderated by Mark Pogachefsky of mprm. Among the panelists are John Northcott from the cbc, and Leah Rozen from People magazine who will discuss getting the most out of the media.

From 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at The Park Hyatt, Carnelian Films’ Elke Town will helm a chat with director Jeremy Podeswa, actor Molly Parker, Ralph Zimmerman from Great North Artists management and Cassian Elwes of William Morris Agency about obtaining the right cast, using Podeswa’s film The Five Senses as a model.

The digital domain is the subject at hand from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. for ‘The Evolution of The Revolution: The Next Stage of Digital Filmmaking’. Peter Broderick of Next Wave Films will demonstrate the possibilities of digital filmmaking at the Cumberland 3 cinema.

New to this year’s lineup, and outside of the symposium programming, is ‘The Mavericks: Filmmakers’ Sessions’, intimate gatherings (limited to 100 people) where established filmmakers will discuss how they continue to work independently. Among those in the hot seat will be actor and first-time director Tim Roth with producer Dixie Linder (The War Zone) who will take the stage on Sunday Sept. 12. Charles Brunett and Paul Heller (The Annihilation of Fish) will talk on Sept. 15 from 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Writer/director Paul Schrader (Forever Mine) will participate and more sessions are scheduled but guests are being kept under wraps.

The Producers Lounge, founded by Triptych Media and operated for the past two years externally, will return as part of the Industry Centre. The Panorama Lounge on top of The Manulife Centre will host these events where producers and decision makers can discuss projects. The Producers Lounge and Network Services will take place Sept. 12 and 15.