* Jacques Bensimon has been appointed exec vp of the Banff Television Festival. Now the managing director of tfo, the French network of tvontario, Bensimon will join the festival’s management team Oct. 1.

* Bill Gray, former senior vp of CineGroupe, has been appointed Stornoway Communications’ new exec vp operations. Gray’s responsibilities will initially focus on the prodco’s four specialty applications before the crtc.

* Paul de Silva has been appointed head of programming and development at Vision tv, effective Sept. 1.

De Silva is currently the director of independent production at Vision, commissioning doc and music programming with western manager Maureen Levitt and Atlantic representative Charles Doucet.

In other Vision news, producer/director Jeanette Loakman joins the service as programming associate responsible for acquisitions and working with independent producers.

* Fireworks International, the international distribution arm of CanWest Entertainment, has appointed Kathryn Rice as director of sales, overseeing all sales for the company in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, the Middle East and Africa.

* Sarah MacDonald, formerly business manager for television at CBC British Columbia, is the new director of programming, television and new media at British Columbia’s Knowledge Network. She will oversee programming initiatives for know tv and Knowledge Network Interactive, the network’s new webcasting service.

* Charles Jean Sucsan, former program and development director with Look Communications, operator of the wireless bdu service Look tv, has been named communications director.

* Association des Realisateurs et Realisatrices du Quebec, representing French-language directors in film and television, has named Lise Lachapelle as its new director-general. Lachapelle has worked at Videographe in theatre management and on Radio-Canada’s archival project. She takes over on June 30 from the arrq’s current director-general, Lucette Lupien.

* The Vancouver Film School has promoted three of its senior staff to newly created positions. Laura Jo Gunter, former director of programming, has been appointed vp of programming. Daniel Craig, former director of marketing and sales, has been appointed vp, marketing and sales. Ruth Atherley, former communications manager, has been promoted to director of communications.

* The Society of Authors and Music Publishers of Canada has appointed Andre LeBel its new ceo. LeBel replaces current gm Michael Rock, who is retiring after 30 years with socan.

* Vicci Weller has been appointed executive director of film at the Thompson-Nicola Regional District Film Commission, located in Kamloops, b.c. Weller is a former president of the B.C. Interior Film & Television Association.

* Television personality/journalist/author Daniel Richler is joining the Canadian Learning Channel as host and producer of its book programming strand on Sunday evenings. Most recently, Richler produced and hosted the literary show Inprint and the underground news magazine show Big Life. He was also chief arts correspondent on The Journal and exec producer of the arts at tvontario.